Pokemon Sagas: Shadow Destiny
by KingOGreen2.0
Summary: In the Orre Region only the strong survive. For many years Orre has had a united front to oversee the region and provide means of survival: for a price. Team Cipher, a vast network spanning every corner of the region casting a shadow of fear over every citizen in this lawless region. Follow the exciting tales of agents Ryoko and Haruka. Updates Wednesday, bi-weekly
1. Chapter 1: Prelude to Darkness

Pokémon Sagas: Shadow Destiny

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The events of Shadow Destiny follow after the events of _Chapter 60: Storm the Lake_ of _Pokemon Sagas: Tia's Tales_.

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Chapter 1: Prelude to Darkness

The burning sun over the Orre Region beats down on the land and the scorching sands. A vast desert wasteland devoid of life in most areas. The few oases in between are greedily exploited by the locals. Life in Orre is hard and cutthroat. Only the strong survive. The weak are either oppressed or left to the mercy of the unforgiving desert. For many years Orre has had a united front to oversee the region and provide means of survival: for a price.

Team Cipher, the cruel and ruthless dictators of the equally oppressive lands have ruled over Orre for decades. They are a vast network spanning every corner of the region with their dark claws of oppression. Casting a shadow of fear over every citizen in this lawless region. Run by the notorious Greevil, a rich mastermind with a wild ambitious and lust for power. As well as his right hand, Evice. Whose political influence under the guise of Es Cade has crawled his way into all of Orre's political affairs and manipulated the odds in Cipher's favor.

Amongst their ranks resides the best trainers in the region as well as some of the brightest minds around. Orre being the isolated region it is made it very easy for Cipher to creep into power and supremacy. Offering safety, insurance, and prosperity to those desperate or power hungry enough. It's the epitome of a dog eat dog world under Cipher's dominances.

Orre has been all but abandoned by the world. Tourists know to stay away, trainers fear Cipher and their Shadow Pokémon. Even the Pokémon League refuses to recognize the region. Pokémon themselves are scares aside from Steel, Rock, Ground, and Fire types whom roam the landscape predominantly. Still Cipher maintained a strong arsenal of Pokémon to fight anyone who dares to oppose them. Two of the finest agents in Cipher are Ryoko, one of their best Snaggers, and Haruka one of the brightest minds in the organization.

These eighteen year old prodigies were raised by Cipher since they were infants in order to raise them into the perfect Cipher agents. Both exceeding in their own skills to become the future leaders of Cipher. They still have much to learn however. Their latest failures to capture the legendary Pokémon Moltres and Zapdos, as well as the failure to snag Team Rocket's failed Gyarados project has earn them both very uncomfortable conferences with their superiors.

Ryoko himself currently sits in a small meeting room with a very frustrated and flamboyant Miror B. "Young man this is unacceptable. You and Haruka have been bad kiddies." He scolds him with his strangely excitable and cheery tone. "I mean to lose two legends and our pay check is just so bad I could faint." Much like his mannerisms, looks, and personality Miror B.'s speech is also very much exaggerated.

Ryoko kicks up his legs on the table and scoffs. "Look B., Team Rocket didn't get the legendary and neither did we. We cut our losses. Plus, that Gyarados really wasn't that big a loss to begin with." Ryoko doesn't like the idea of aiding someone who could in turn stab them in the back, but he'll take what he can get.

Miror B. spins and slams a file on the desk. "Oh really you naïve, little boy? Would two gym leaders catching the legendary Pokémon _you _were supposed to capture count as a small loss?" Miror B. is livid and Ryoko can tell. He didn't think about the fact that the Pokémon League getting their hands on a legendary Pokémon could prove to be detrimental to Cipher.

He glares at the report not trying to look fazed. "I didn't want to withdraw, but there was no avoiding it. We were outnumbered and facing heavy resistance. I made a judgment call." Now is the point where Ryoko must justify his actions. Not something he enjoyed, but he has a way of worming himself out of these types of situations.

"Oh really, are you sure it wasn't just to protect your girlfriend?" Miror B. immediately hits the chink in Ryoko's armor. His love for Haruka. That irrational impulse to protect her and be with her.

"Sorry I protected one of our top researchers." He responds sarcastically and scowls at Miror B. That was below the belt for even Ryoko's standards.

"You let your emotions get the better of your judgment and it cost us our prizes foolish boy!" B. is furious he grits his teeth and slams the table while meeting Ryoko's angered gaze.

"The chick in Mahogany Town had Rayquaza! What was I supposed to do?" Ryoko practically spits fire trying to justify the past two failures.

The phone rings and the large television on the adjacent wall comes on to the sight of a very serious looking man with wild, untamable hair. "That is quite enough Miror B." His voice commands a quiet intensity that sends chills down Ryoko's spine.

"But Nascour this brat refuses to accept responsibility for this failure." Miror B.'s anger is really at a boil by this point. Ryoko has a nasty habit of testing his patience. Not to say Ryoko isn't constantly annoyed by B. himself.

"I refuse to believe that you would have done any different. Metagross was getting attacked from all sides and the machine was destroyed in the fray. Also, like I said before: I was facing down Rayquaza!" Ryoko has a solid justification, but he personally believes that Miror B. is too much of an idiot to understand anything. From his ridiculous attire to his horrible taste in music he tortures the other agents with. Ryoko himself doesn't hold much power at the moment, but he knows he's better than almost all the other agents he works with.

"That's enough out of both of you." Nascour's menacing gaze and cold demeanor is very good at silencing people. Even Ryoko admits that Nascour is intimidating to say the least. What with his blood red eyes and serpentine hair. He is one to be respected and feared. "Ryoko, your choice cost us two legendary Pokémon, but you did the right thing in protecting Haruka. You will be reprimanded accordingly. Now leave." Nascour's presence is enough for Ryoko to obey silently. He begrudgingly takes his lumps and walks off refusing to leave with his tail between his legs. He can at least do his best to seem unfazed.

As the door shuts Miror B. gives a huff and a pout. "That boy needs to be disciplined harshly if you ask me." B. crosses his arms and turns up his nose before looking once more to Nascour's menacing presence on screen.

"He will be, Ein has made a proposal I intent to follow through on. Haruka will also be punished for her weakness. In the presence of especially difficult adversity Ryoko excels while Haruka's faults show. This creates a chain reaction where Ryoko becomes emotionally tied to protecting her and she becomes dead weight." Nascour assess the situation for himself and more or less what Ein thought as well. "I feel that it may be best if the two are separated for a while. No visits, no communication, and no missions together for at least a month. That way we can focus on hone their skills without distractions." The plan, much like Nascour, is very cold and calculated.

Miror B is absolutely giddy and this prospect. "Yes, the nasty boy will finally get what's coming to him. He walks around like he's the talk of the base, but this will really put him in his place. I want to tell him myself." B. jumps up excited and rubs his hands together in a dastardly manner.

Nascour clears his throat to catch Miror B's attention. "You mustn't allow personal grudges to impede on your ability to lead your subordinates. Remember, he is still Dakim's responsibility as a Snagger."

Ryoko steps out into the halls of Cipher's base. One of the many run by Cipher. Over the years their hold on Orre had grown enough to take full control of Phenac City where this particular base is located. Converting the Pre-Gym and its underground facility into a key base for Cipher activity. It's business as usual in the base. Agents and scientists running up and down the halls with paper work or getting ready for training.

For the time being Ryoko has no orders so he makes his way to the break room for a quick lunch. Ever since he'd returned it'd be nonstop explanations and talks with B. and it annoyed him greatly. Sometimes he wishes he could tell Miror B. off, but he knows well enough that mouthing off to his superiors too much will land him in even greater trouble. Hasn't stop him from spreading nasty rumors about the fool though, indirect insubordination is the best kind.

As Ryoko thinks to himself a fellow agents runs up to him and taps him on the shoulder. Ryoko looks down to a much shorter agent who wears a soft smile and looks up at him with her vivid and lively, green eyes. "Hey Ryoko, I heard you were back from your mission. So how did it go?" She'd obviously not been made privy to his recent failure.

"We ran into some complications. Haruka and I had to bail without the Gyarados." He tactfully plays it off in an attempt to save face. "How about you, Mei?" He quickly redirects the conversation back at her.

"Nothing much, sorry to hear about that though. Dakim's just got me training for a mission set to proceed tomorrow or something like that." She just sort of rubs the back of her head amidst her bright, blonde locks and laughs it off.

Mei's complexion matched Ryoko's tanned skin, her hair was bright as the sun with an equally bright smile. It's almost hard to believe she's an even more vicious trainer than Ryoko. Much like Ryoko and Haruka, Mei too has been raised since she was a baby to be an elite Cipher agent. Despite her short stature she still has the physique of a young woman and is three years Ryoko's senior. Though no one would ever take her for twenty-one.

"Training? I've been slacking a bit on that lately with all the Rocket activity. How many points are you sitting at?" His aloof nature makes it seem like he's feinting interest, but Ryoko's always been close to Mei so he kept tabs on her progress.

"A bit over twenty-six hundred." She smiles widely while Ryoko shutters thinking about his mere fourteen hundred. Ranking in Cipher wasn't simply a matter of who was number one. It was a combination of factors. Mission successes versus failures, training battles won against other agents, simulations completed according to the criteria, and most importantly win-to-loss ratio. Each factor is automated to add and subtract points when necessary. The top ten point totals are posted and updated dynamically to show agents' progress. Needless to say Admins are not in these listings.

"I've got a bit of catching up to do." He opens the door to the break room and holds the door for Mei. "You at number one?"

Mei shakes her head, "Two, that spots taken by Holden. He's over three thousand right now. It's incredible." Her specific standing exclusively counted for the Phenac City location. Her overall stance, much like Ryoko's, was still in the hundreds.

"Because he takes all the easy missions and racks win on chumps." Ryoko says under his breath as he examines what they had available to eat. He opts for a burger and some fries, not feeling up to much else at the moment.

The two find a seat in front of a large, wall mounted television and listen in on the news. The articles running are all about political movements controlled by Cipher, recent rebel activity, as well as general business going on in Orre. News, naturally was heavily controlled by Cipher, but not censored. If anything the news was very highly open to exposing any news they see fit. Orre wasn't allowed to have secrets. Cipher had plenty, but the general norm had little too no privacy.

"So what's this mission you're going on?" Ryoko attempts some communication to break the silence at awkwardly loomed over head.

Mei perks up, "Oh that? Something about Rebel's hiding out in the caves outside of Pyrite City. Nothing too special I'm sure. We'll be assembling a team of about a dozen agents. They haven't assigned a leader yet. I doubt any of the Admins will step up."

"Miror B.'s too busy acting like a fool, Dakim is on Mt. Battle, Venus is running most of The Under's activity anymore, and Ein is at the Research Lab. Eldes and Ardos would never dirty their hands with 'grunt work' either." Ryoko stops to think a moment. "Lovrina recently got promoted to Admin, maybe she'll take point?" Ryoko is definitely one to keep his ear to ground as far as any shifts in power in Cipher.

Mei groans, "God I hope not. She's always giving me a hard time. I'd rather have Gorigan taking the lead."

Ryoko cringes, "That knuckle dragger? I'd rather have Snattle and you know it's bad when I'd rather have Snattle leading a mission." Every Admin has their strong suit, Snattle is a charismatic and smooth talking man who's managed to worm his way into many of the region's and world's affairs. A true politician with a silver tongue and heart black as night. It was almost a little frightening how much influence Snattle had.

Ryoko may not like Gorigan, but he earned his position as Dakim's right hand for sure. A scary strong battler with a reputation of going berserk in battle. Fighting without restraint just like the Shadow Pokémon he battle alongside.

Mei thinks of another topic that needed to be discussed. "I wonder how Haruka is holding up? She was just as much a part of those missions as you were. You think Ein is punishing her harshly?" Ein is very cold and calculated, and not above punishing grunts for failing a mission. While Haruka held a little more authority over her other agents as well as having Ein's favor Mei is sure that he's not going to go easy on her.

Ryoko rubs his forehead and sighs, "I was going to call her later and see what happened, but now you've got me worried."

Mei covers her mouth, "Oops, sorry Ryoko." The thought hadn't crossed her mind at the time. Though she should have realized given how much of his brain space is devoted to thinking about Haruka.

Ryoko quickly gets up without a word to Mei. She lets him go knowing that this will drive him crazy otherwise. He hastily makes his ways back to his quarters where he slept. The room is small in size, but large enough to accommodate him and only him. A bed, nightstand, closet, and a desk with a computer on it. Most grunts got a bunk in the sleeping hall, but Ryoko had enough clout to earn his own room.

He quickly boots up his computer and makes a video call to Haruka. Unfortunately Haruka is not waiting eagerly for him on the other end. Instead is the face of a man looking quite cross. "Hello Ryoko," the man in question is Ein and he's none too pleased to see Ryoko.

"Ein? Where's Haruka?" He grits his teeth knowing Ein is constantly trying to interfere with their relationship. Haruka is his star protégé and a very good one at that so he did all he could to make sure she was distracted by 'trivial matters' like her relationship with Ryoko. What's more, Ein was never very keen of Ryoko to begin with.

"Haruka is busy with research. You're calling either because you haven't heard or you're just _that _insubordinate. Either way I'll say this just once." He clears his throat and reads a form in his hands. "As punishment for failure to acquire Moltres and Zapdos as well as the test subject Gyarados. Cipher Admins Nascour, Dakim, and Ein," he pauses to give Ryoko an evil smile, "have ordered that agent Ryoko and agent Haruka be separated for the period of one month. In this time neither agent may communicate with the other, take on missions together, or otherwise be in the same presents as the other. Failure to abide by these terms will result in severe punishment."

Ryoko is floored, he can't believe Cipher is stooping to this level to literal cut off his ties to Haruka. "You're a piece of work Ein. I'm sure this was all your idea."

He smirks, "What gave it away? Well I must be going now. Have a nice month."

"Wait, before you go. At least tell her I called and that I said I love her." This is a simple request and certainly not one he wanted to have Ein fulfilling in his place.

"I will not, goodbye." He hangs up without a word leaving Ryoko frustrated and more than a little upset. So he does what logically comes to mind when he's angry. He gets up and heads straight for the training arena. Beating up a bunch of agents' Pokémon will surely ease some of the pain.

On Haruka's end she is busy sitting in a small conference room alone reading over research articles and taking in depth notes. Her mind is completely fixated on the topic at hand. She knows there's nothing she can do about her current situation with Ryoko. So she opts to make the most of her free time and devote it to more pertinent research.

Ein steps in and smiles seeing her hard at work. "What have you discovered so far?" His tone is much softer and kinder to Haruka than it was with Ryoko.

"I've been research our current shadowification process and I've noticed some inconsistences in the results. Some Pokémon respond better to the process than others." Her mannerisms are like a well-oiled machine. Haruka has always had a sharp mind and ability to devote herself fully to a task.

Ein seems a little surprised, "Really? Go on." He sits beside her and examines her notes.

"It looks like Dark Types and Pokémon with naturally more aggressive personalities are more attuned to the shadowification process and adapt faster. While more docile Pokémon show more resistance and produce weaker results." She points to several charts and documents with studies of Shadow Pokémon in the latest batch.

"Well that seemed fairly obvious, but these results are definitely more substantial than I'd originally anticipated." He examines her findings closely and scratches his chin. "I'll grab us both a cup of coffee and we can figure out what to do about this."

He exits the room and really ponders Haruka's discovery. What could be causing this phenomena? Previous shadowifying technics result in the same results amongst all test subject, but were a weaker breed than today's Shadow Pokémon. Somehow the refined process was proving less compatible.

He has little more time to think about this as a grunt runs up to him. "Sir Ein, we have news." The agents hands him a document with a huge classified stamp on it. "Delivered from Sir Eldes. Your eyes only he said." The grunt salutes and takes his leave.

Curious? Ein opens the folder and is immediately astonished by its contents. "_So that's what he's been hiding from us?_" Ein quietly speaks to himself and quickly closes the document. He casually makes his way to his office where he locks the document amongst others is a secured safe under his desk. This information was very sensitive so simply filing with the rest of his documents will not do.

He quickly makes his way to the café in the lab and pours himself and Haruka coffee. He slowly makes his ways down the hall back to the conference hall when another grunt walks up to him.

"Sir we have a transmission from Gorigan in the Cipher Key Lair. Something about issues manufacturing Shadow Pokémon." The grunts stands patiently saluting as he awaits Ein's response.

He looks to the conference room and grits his teeth. "Very well, I'll speak with him in my office." Ein sighs and heads back to his office with the two mugs and sets them down on his desk. He pinches the bridge of his nose and answers the call.

Gorigan appears on screen looking livid. "There you are, look I don't know what's going on but some of these latest Shadow Pokémon are terrible. It's like they've become weaker and lost the will to fight at all."

Ein scratches his chin, "I've seen the results. We're working on a solution don't worry. For the time being dispose the weaker samples and work on training the superior Pokémon. I'm sure some grunt can't wait to get their hands on the latest generation of Shadows." Ein's methodical and isn't afraid to admit when an experiment fails to meet his expectations, sweep the results under the rug, and move on.

"Fine, but we have a huge order coming in so I want results ASAP." Gorigan ends the call with no warning, not that Ein is complaining, but the pressure is certainly on now. They require results, positive results.

He quickly grabs the mugs of now cold coffee and shakes his head. Begrudgingly he briskly walks back to the café and dumps the old mugs. Thankfully there is just enough left for two more fresh cups. As he exits the café he peers out into the hall to make sure no other grunts stood between him and conference room. He exhales and steps out feeling relieved that he can finally get back to helping Haruka.

He quickly steps inside and locks the door to prevent any other disruptions and spots Haruka with her head lying on the table amidst the files and reports. She had quite a few more notes written out as well, but Ein knew she was fast asleep. He smiles and lies down the mugs. He reaches into a cabinet and pulls out a blanket that he lays over Haruka. Ein sits down beside her and takes a drink as he looks over her findings.

Night has come quickly over Phenac and Ryoko feels he's sufficiently let out all of his frustration. "How many does that make?" Ryoko looks to the sidelines where Mei sits tiredly.

"Twenty five battles." She yawns and looks down at a little device she carried on her. "You're sitting in the upper sixteen hundreds now."

Ryoko grits his teeth, "That's it? I need a mission." He knows that mission definitely are the fastest ways to more net gains.

He walks off and waves goodbye to Mei without word. "Wait what are you going to do?" She's not quite sure what that last comment was implying, but she has a feeling that he's got something up his sleeve.

As Ryoko walks through the halls he notice Miror B. walking in the opposite direction. "Oh Ryoko, just the boy I was looking for." He is giddy as usual and more than a bit flamboyant.

"What do you want B.? Here to rub my punishment in my face?" Ryoko's short with him and isn't pleased with having to converse with him.

"On the contrary, you see Dakim and I were talking and he felt it'd be best if you had a mission to take your mind off of things. So I have two proposals for you my young agent." He raises his pointer finger high in the air, "One, you can join Dakim on Mt. Battle." He does a quick spin and makes the peace sign in Ryoko's face. "Option two! You've no doubt heard from Mei by now about her mission. Well I'm still up in the air about who will be spearheading this little field trip. I think you'd be perfect for the part."

Ryoko looks more than a little surprised. "Me? Really? You never give me _good _missions." A bit of a backhanded comment, but Ryoko quickly changes his tune. "I'll do it, I just can't believe _you're_ the one offering."

"Believe it or not, I actually believe there's a good leader in you. When he's not distracted by nasty feminine wiles. Think of this as a chance to prove yourself." He struts off excitedly as Mei walks up. "Good evening dearie." He smiles and continues walking off.

"Good evening sir," she quickly salutes as he walks by. She walks up to Ryoko who still looks a bit shocked. "What's the matter Ryoko?"

"Miror B. just offered me the leading position in tomorrow's mission." Even now it seems too surreal to believe.

"That's great! I can't wait. We haven't had a mission together is quite a while." Mei cheerfully walks down the hall to her sleeping quarters as Ryoko does the same. "Well, better get plenty of rest. Tomorrow will be a big day."

"No kidding, and don't worry we'll crush those rebels before they even know what hits them." Ryoko holds up his fist with a stoic expression. Mei matches his intensity as she nods and steps into her room.

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Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas universe as a whole. I'm glad to have finally gotten out the first chapter of Shadow Destiny, which had endured a complete rewrite of the original story. As stated in the Lede, this story will now shift to a bi-weekly release with Tia's Tales on Wednesdays. Even though this first chapter is being uploaded on a Tuesday due to scheduling conflicts. Regardless, this means next Wednesday will be Tia's Tales and Shadow Destiny chapter 2 will follow the Wednesday afterwards.


	2. Chapter 2: Shadows in the Sand

Chapter 2: Shadows in the Sand

Sun seers on the burning sands of Orre even in the morning. Relentless heat quickly casts away the freezing dark of night. Every agent is preparing for the coming mission. No one quite knows what to expect so they prepare for every situation. Grabbing their best Pokémon, stocking up on items to use in case of healing, and making sure they are well nourished before departing.

The team in total consists of a dozen agents. The mission leader, the direct subordinate, and the agents under them. Search and destroy is the name of the plan. Capture any rebel they can and eliminate the base. Capturing the Pokémon is a priority, but the leader and co-leader will be equipped with Snag Machines.

Ryoko and Mei both head into a lab where they are fitted and given their respective Snag Machines. Any rebels detained with have their Pokémon captured and shadowified later. Naturally Ryoko wouldn't choose anyone else other than Mei to be his right hand in this mission. The two have a long history together. Ryoko would even go as far to say he trusts her just as much as he trusts Haruka.

Ryoko closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He slowly opens his eyes and turns to Mei who'd done a similar technic. "You ready?" He speaks quietly and walks to a table with a layout of the area surround Pyrite.

She nods and stands beside him, "I'm ready."

"First order of business is infiltration. We want to keep up the element of surround, but once we make the final approach. Come in hard." He points to the topographic map. His finger fixates on a small cave and the mouth of it where they will be entering.

"Got it, agents will flood in and I'll take point with offensive pressure with my Pokémon. As they situation escalates when will you be stepping in?" She knows Ryoko is all about getting up class and personal with his foes.

"As the rebels get taken care of I'll handle any especially strong trainers. I don't want you or anyone else to under estimate the rebels. They may be hiding stronger trainers in their ranks. So be careful of that." They whole plan is pretty cut and dry. If it were Haruka she's be assigning position, special signals, and pincer formations. That was all a bit too technical for Ryoko's taste. A good old fashion seek and eliminate method worked well enough for him.

Mei nods and steps out with Ryoko. The line of the ten grunts stand in their matching uniforms in attention to Ryoko's orders. "Alright, listen up men and women. We're going in quickly, but quietly. When we finally strike hold nothing back. Go on total offensive. Makes sure the rebels don't know what hit them. Most of all, don't let any of them escape."

All the grunts salute and shout, "Sir, yes sir." Ryoko smiles from ear to ear with a malicious sense of pride. Spear heading larger scale missions always had a way of making him happy. They all attentively awaiting his next order. Eager to begin their mission and prove themselves to the admins they serve. More than that they do this all for Cipher. All for the nation they wish to build, the world crafted in Cipher's image, and stand above those who dares to steal their ideology from them.

"Everybody in position." Ryoko calls out his Alakazam and has him teleport them to the entrance of Pyrite Town. The grunts mobilize to the East and head for a small mountain range with large cave mouth on the horizon. "Mei what's your strategy? I'll be leading off with Alakazam and Cacturne."

Mei thinks for a second, "Really? No Psyshock and Awe?" Mei had a tendency for nicknaming commonly used strategies she and Ryoko would use. It seemed childish, but Ryoko found it amusing and a clever code for their attack formations.

"I don't think that will be necessary, but I may have you use your Dual Kings strategy." They know this as one of Mei's more potent combinations which takes Mei by surprise.

"That seems a bit excessive don't you think? If we want to cause a cave in maybe." She doesn't want to know what Ryoko has in mind if he thinks she'll have to resort to that.

"It's just a suggestion, I don't think it'll come to that though. Either way I recommend you using Magcargo and Lanturn." Team synergy is one thing Ryoko is known for, his ability to think of combinations on the fly is what made him excel in battle. A wide type diversity is a key strategy with Ryoko, but power trumped all.

"Lava Lamp. Can do," she calls out her Pokémon with a wicked smile on her face, "shall me?"

Ryoko nods, "We shall," the cave is less than a hundred meters out. "Attack!" He points forward and signals the call to attack.

Mei gets a gleam in her eye and runs forward with her Pokémon. She may be short, but she could run with the best of them. Completing a one-hundred meter dash in a flat twelve seconds. She charges past most grunts with Lanturn following beside her. Magcargo takes up the rear and sets up a Shell Smash to give it that extra burst of speed and attack.

More and more Cipher grunts run up beside her and call out their Pokémon, both normal and a fair number of Shadows too. Mei looks to Lanturn for the first attack, "Thunderbolt!" She uses a Thunderbolt to send a message to all rebels inside. The light from the attack illuminates the cave revealing at least two dozen men and women inside. Mei presses on a small ear piece and lowers a visor she had on her head. "Ryoko we've got rebels somewhere in the twenties. The surprise attack worked. The cave is narrow, but widens out into a small grotto."

Ryoko teleports beside her with Alakazam, "Perfect. Everyone move forward!" Ryoko takes stock of the situation and lowers a similar visor. "Alakazam use Psychic on the first Pokémon you see." A man steps back and quickly calls out a Linoone to combat the oncoming adversaries. With that Alakazam trains his sights on it and attacks without any hesitation. The poor Pokémon didn't even see what was coming. Ryoko scoffs, "Weak."

More and more Pokémon are called out as Cipher floods into the cave and quickly overwhelming the rebels. Little can be done on their end but attempt to fight them off, but each step brings them one step deeper into the cave.

"Mind if I join the fray?" Mei grins likes a kid in a candy shop.

Ryoko rolls his eyes, "Just don't spoil your appetite." He smirks and watches her charge in Pokémon blazing. An Electro Ball takes down a Sharpedo and Lava Plume wrecks a Vileplume. Mei gets a sick smile as her Pokémon sweep through everything around it. She is positively elated. Of all the Cipher agents she's the first one to break past the rebel's line of defense and starts picking them off from all around. A sudden strike from a Confusion takes her Lanturn by surprise and catches Mei's attention.

She spots an Espeon with an Umbreon beside it attacking. The Umbreon's attack isn't as fast so she manages to avoid the oncoming Bite, but she definitely had her sights set on whomever was taking advantage of the cover. The two retreat deeper into the cave and into the grotto. She follows them close sending off Electro Balls and Ancient Powers the whole time.

Espeon is smart to set up dual screens for the Physical and Special Defensive boosts to the whole team. Light Clay also made sure that Reflect and Light Screen stayed up extra-long. While Umbreon continued to retaliate with Pursuit and Secret Powers.

Whoever Mei's foe definitely knows a thing or two about double battles. It concerns her, but excites her even more. She runs until the Pokémon finally settle down and stand their ground. A young man no older than nineteen steps out from the shadows and confronts Mei. He wears a long, blue trench coat, black pants, and black boots. "So these are your Pokémon?" Mei is not too impressed as she stares down her opponent.

His face is cold, his sharp golden eyes glare back at her. What stands out most is a strange white stripe that crosses his face from end to end just below his eyes. "Leave these people alone. This is your only warning." His voice is soft, but vicious.

Mei frowns, "You don't seem to understand the position you're in guy. We're winning this fight. No matter what you say you won't beat us." Mei points forward, "Thunder," she snaps her fingers and instantly Umbreon is knocked out by the might burst of electricity crashing down on him.

The man scowls and calls back his Pokémon, "We cannot lose to you. Go Makuhita." His second Pokémon comes out to support Espeon.

Mei sighs, "Enough of this. I'm ending this farce right now." She calls back her Pokémon and looks at the man with an almost deathly gaze. "Go Slaking, go Slowking." The two emerge eager to battle. The two look back at one another and nods as they await Mei's say so. "Skill Swap and Brick Break." In perfect sync the two attack. Slaking stand up and running full throttle at Espeon. With a mighty swing of Slaking's monster arm he shatters through both defensive barriers and utterly annihilates Espeon with a single hit. He turns to the Makuhita who appears to be paralyzed with fear. Any hopes of Truant kicking when Slaking's done are remedied his ability swapped with Slowking's Own Tempo Ability. Mei laughs, "Hammer Arm." She gives a thumbs down as Slaking's fist slams down with great force. One Hit KOing the defenseless Pokémon.

Espeon is quickly called back, but as the man tries calling back Makuhita Mei grabs a Pokeball in her hand and energizes it with her Snag Machine. She tosses it at Makuhita, but unlike normal Pokeballs this one manifests a large claw that scoops up Makuhita and contains it. One shake, two shakes, three shakes, and locks with a ping. Mei extends out her hand as the ball flies back into it. The Snag Machine had a special mechanism for ensure the safe retrieval of all newly snagged Pokémon. It flashes away in an instant. Unlike a normal Pokeball that went to a trainer's PC this one was directly sent to a holding facility in Cipher's Key Lair where the newly snagged Pokemon awaits shadowification.

"Damn you!" The man seems rather shaken by this and calls out a Geodude as his last resort. "Geodude use Self-Destruct." Geodude lunges forward and explodes disrupting the rocks around them and shakes the entire cave. As stalactites come crashing down he calls back his felled Pokémon and uses Geodude's sacrifice as a way out. He retreats deeper into the cave.

"Get back here!" Mei tries to pursue his, but the rocks block her passage. She curses as her opponent escapes. She may have snagged one of his Pokémon, but she didn't care about that. She want to claim him and make sure he's stopped. Letting her opponents escape never sat well with Mei. Still she needed to focus on capturing who they could.

While Mei was locked in her fight with the mysterious rebel Ryoko was faring pretty well for himself with the support of all the grunts aiding the effort. Alakazam blasts everything in his path with Psychic. It was almost boring to Ryoko. None of his opponents posed a threat to him, it was a shame really. He was happy to see his plan going smoothly with no real wrinkles in his plan, but the total slaughter of the rebels really just proved to be a dull exercise in pest control more than anything else. It speaks to the strength of Cipher that they've so well mastered the art of tactical sieging that even larger scale assaults were child's play to them.

Still Ryoko didn't let his guard down. One can never be too sure when a more powerful adversary could be hiding. That said, he seems to have lost track of Mei's location. He's confident that of all the agents here that Mei is the last one her needs to worry about. As more and more Pokémon fall to Cipher a couple grunts walk up with an older looking man.

He is brought before Ryoko and pushed to his knees. He growls at the grunts and looks towards Ryoko. He sees nothing by stone cold animosity in Ryoko's eyes. He sighs and lowers his head. Weakly he replies, "Please stop this, we surrender." His dismal tone is enough to make Ryoko smile triumphantly.

"Then all of you will surrender your Pokémon to Cipher." Ryoko walks past the man as he sheds tears of defeat. "Men, today we have won. To all you rebels your leader has surrender! Come out peacefully or we will use force." Ryoko is suddenly interrupted by the sound of rocks crashing in the cave. "What was that?" he runs in the direction of the grotto and spots Mei shouting in anguish. "Mei what's the situation?"

She points to the rocks, "One of the rebels escaped. He was stronger than the others. I caught his Makuhita, but he blow up the rocks and created a diversion to escape and block the path." She points one of the rocks angrily and calls back her Pokémon.

Ryoko shakes his head, "It can't be helped right now. We took care of the rest of the rebels so we have nothing to worry about. One man escaping is hardly a reason to be upset. Regardless, you performed perfectly today." He gives her high praise, which is common for Ryoko, in regards to her actual performance during the mission. "The rebels have surrendered. I need you to help corral them."

Mei nods and follows Ryoko back to the mouth of the cave where grunts were collecting Pokeballs and tying up grunts. Men look down in shame, women dishearten, and the younger trainers are afraid for their lives. It was a depressing sight, but Ryoko was used to it. He sits on one of the chairs and calls up Miror B. on a special X-Transceiver developed by Cipher.

"Hello boy, I do so hope you're interrupting my Jazzercising with good news." He does a quick twirl and gives Ryoko his full attention.

It was times like these he questioned how this man was his superior. He pinches the bridge of his nose, "The rebels have been apprehended with little difficult. We are ready for the transports to come take away the rebels."

Miror B grins from ear to ear and does a jump up in the air. "Oh wonderful and in record time too. I knew you were the right choice boy. Your vehicles are on the way." Miror B hangs up and with perfect timing the transport vehicles drive up.

"Well that was fast," Mei is surprised by the quick turn out.

"I'm sure he had them ready and waiting. Well this will be very good for our records." Ryoko watches as all the rebels are gathered up and escorted into the vehicles. They are off to a reeducation plant where they will be forced into submission and taught how to become productive members of Cipher society. "Well let's all head back and give them the full debriefing."

Elsewhere in Orre the news of Ryoko's success spreads as a meeting is being held about the status of the newly acquired Pokémon. On one end is Ein in his research facility and Gorigan on the other at the Key Lair. Ein shows reservations about what the current status of the Shadowification could do to the Pokémon.

"So what are you telling me?" Gorigan is a little impatient. He does not like the idea of halting production of Shadow Pokémon. Neither Evice nor Greevil would be happy to hear that, not one bit.

Ein adjusts his glasses, "I'm saying we need to reevaluate our current methods, maybe uses some older machines for the time being. As it stands the current process is not at optimum efficiency for producing the quality of Shadows we would like. You've seen the reports." Ein often found it hard to reason with Gorigan, as did many. Still the man would not listen to reason for the life of him.

"All I hear is excuses. I will not shut down the current production. Both our heads would roll!" His thrashes around like a Primape as he yells.

"Dear lord, I need some good news." As Ein pinches the bridge of his nose he hears a knocking at his door. "Come in," he didn't like grunts interrupting his meetings, but he hoped that it would be a good enough reason to end his conference with Gorigan.

To his surprise it's Haruka, who looks a little more than out of it. She has disheveled hair and bags under her eyes. "I'm sorry to interrupt sirs, but I did a bit more research on our current issue and I think I may have found a temporary solution." She tries her best not to yawn, but she can't help it as she hands the folder off to Ein.

He looks at Haruka in a way that asks her why she's not in bed. He worked clear into the night researching, but after a couple hours she'd woke back up to help him. He knows she's running no more than three hours of sleep. Still he admires Haruka's commitment to the effort. Especially if she helped find a solution. He reads through her document and almost laughs, "Sometimes the right solution is right in front of our faces." He clears his throat and looks back to Gorigan. "Well I have good news and inconvenient news for you."

"Inconvenient?" Gorigan tilts his head like the word is somehow foreign to him.

"Quite, turns out we can produce the higher quality of Shadows we desire, but to do so we need to increase the duration of the incubation process." What this means is when a Pokémon is being converted into a Shadow Pokémon it is bathed in dark aura which slowly closes the door to its heart and soaks in the darkness. Lamenting in the anger and hatred around them. Ein had recently found methods of speeding up the process while still effectively making better Shadows, but with mixed results.

"So you're telling me we'll be forced to slow down production?" Gorigan doesn't like the sound of that, but it is a hell of a lot better than ceasing it fully.

Ein pauses for a second and runs the numbers in his head, "Yes, but the production hit won't be any more than twelve percent decrease. So you produce one or two less Shadows a day? I think the overall increase in the quality of the product more than makes up for it." Spoken like a true businessman. While Ein is a scientist he still can't help get into the mindset of a factory assembly manager. Mass producing Shadow Pokémon is a very multifaceted process so it's too be expected.

Gorigan scratches his head, "Well when you put it like that. Only twelve percent you say?" He couldn't even fathom how Ein could do those calculations that fast. "Alright, send me the instructions and I'll adjust the machines." He signs off and finally gives Ein a chance to exhale.

"I am certainly glad that's over with." He looks to Haruka who is just lokks sort of lackadaisical. "Haruka, I told you that you needed to sleep." He just shakes his head knowing that she'll almost always put her responsibilities before herself.

"I'm sorry Ein, but I could sleep knowing this hadn't been solved yet." She wants to stand her ground on her decision, but she is definitely feeling the lack of sleep kicking her now.

"Clean yourself up and head to bed," he scolds her and looks her in the eyes, "please." His expression softens as he hopes she'll listen.

She nods, "Yes sir." She walks off sleepily and without objections. She walks the halls like a zombie feeling the lack of sleep weighing on her like a Snorlax. She makes her way to her room. A comfy and sizable room compared to most other's. She steps into her bathroom and runs herself a bath. She puts her hand gently under the facet to check the water until it was a comfortably warm temperature. She steps back out into her bedroom while the tub fills. She discards her clothes which were practically sticking to her which made Haruka wince. The fermented scent of a whole nights work didn't please her much either. She steps up to her mirror and looks at herself with a bit of reservation. She had about three hours of sleep and it certainly showed. She had bags under her eyes and her hair was a fresh mess.

She quickly heads back to the bathroom with a fresh towel and turns off the facet. She dips her toe in the tub and slowly the rest of her leg, then the other, and gently lowers her whole body in the refreshing waters. She lets out a relaxed sigh. She wished she could just fall asleep in the tub, but that didn't work out too well for her last time. As she lays in the tub she thinks about what she'd heard as she'd traversed the halls.

Everyone was talking about Ryoko and Mei's successful mission. Haruka was equally elated to hear about it and looked forward to seeing the full debriefing. She knows those two together are next to unstoppable, but she still could help feel a little sad knowing she can't congratulate her boyfriend in person like she usually does. Haruka knows Ein is only looking out for hers and Cipher's best interests, but that still didn't fill that void in her heart. Ein may do it to protect her, but that doesn't change the fact that Haruka loves Ryoko and has for a long time. What the two share is special and to have it restrained killed her on the inside.

After a while the water begins to cool and Haruka knows it's time to get out. She drains the water and grabs the fresh towel. Clean and newly refreshed Haruka heads straight for bed. Practically throwing herself on the bed and loosely covering herself. She was out of it the second she hit the pillow.

About half an hour later a knocking comes from her door. Haruka is too out of it to even hear so Ein slowly opens it as to not disturb her. He looks in on her and notices she's out like a light. He shakes his head and smiles softly. He has a plate of dried foods for her so he leaves it on her nightstand. He quietly pulls the covers over her and gives her a kiss on the forehead.

Haruka smiles and whispers something in her sleep, "_Ryoko…_" Ein frowns ever so slightly, but he knows this is to be expected. He cared for Haruka like she were his own daughter. So he was understandably a bit protective of her. Never the less, Haruka was special to Ein. She was his protégé and a natural genius. She was not given special privileges she did not earn and Ein didn't play favorites. That isn't to say he wouldn't do things like this as a kindness, but he still knew how to be stern and not let her just walk all over him. Not that Haruka would do that regardless.

He stands up and leaves her room. He had more pressing matters to attend to. Namely Mei and Ryoko's full debriefing. A debriefing from what he's heard will be one he does not want to miss.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and i hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas universe as a whole. Well this is a pretty intense second chapter if I do say so myself. This real shed some light on what exactly it was like being in Cipher. Even people deemed the villains still have humanistic traits. They still have family, friends, and their own ideology.


	3. Chapter 3: Dark Ambitions

Chapter 3: Dark Ambitions

Miror B. guides Mei and Ryoko into a large, open room with a series of screens. The lights turn on and the screens flicker to life. On them are Lady Venus, Ein, Dakim, and Gorigan. They all sit at desks with full documents detailing what Ryoko and Mei reported on.

Mei looks to Ryoko nervously, even though they had nothing to worry about; it was still quite daunting. Before all of this though Mei and Ryoko had a long conversation.

"Do not say a thing about that guy who got away. For all they know that Makuhita was just any other rebel's Makuhita." He warns Mei urgently.

She nods, "You're right, but this is bothering me. That means I'd be lying. What if someone else calls out the fact that one got away?"

Ryoko shakes his head, "No one else saw him. I doubt it'll be that big of a deal anyway. Just don't mention it. We succeeded despite one guy giving you the slip. Besides, it's not like you let him get away. He blew up a portion of the cave to escape for crying out loud."

Mei looks a bit downcast, but nods and agrees. "Okay, but if I ever see him again I'm ending this." She looks determined as ever to catch this mysterious trainer.

Mei steps out of her own head for a second as Miror B speaks up. "Well here are our two shining examples of a mission well done." He is positively giddy as usual.

They all nod approvingly, Dakim especially. "I expected nothing less from you two."

"Yes, it seems that the mission went off without a hitch." Lady Venus observes her documents.

"Yes, I must say this was a good choice. Now please, from your perspective. Tell us everything." Ein is more interesting in their personal experiences.

"Everything was clearly documented in the debriefing, Mei showed exception technic in the field and our fellow agents handled subduing the rebels perfectly. The mission was fairly cut and dry." Ryoko explains in a rather blasé manner.

Mei averts her gaze slightly which catches one keen eyed Admins attention. "Mei, is there something you wish to tell us?" Lady Venus speaks softly, but with a cold accusing glance. Lady Venus is charismatic and a real people person with the ability to divine pretty much anything she needed about a person from a glance.

Mei practically jumps out of her skin. She has to confess now. Ryoko glares hoping she'd keep her mouth shut, but Mei caves. "One of the rebels got a way. He was stronger than the rest. I had him dead to rights, but he had a Geodude use Self-Destruct to create a wall of collapsed rock to flee." She lowers her head, "I'm sorry."

Lady Venus looks confused, "I see, is that all?" She acts like this is nothing at all. Mei nods apologetically. Venus simply laughs, "Mei dear, you are honest to a fault. Are you really so worried about one man escaping?"

"I agree, one man escaping is hardly reason for concern. Word may spread thanks to him, but we at least left a message. You have nothing to worry about Mei. This will not affect your performance evaluation." Ein says his peace and lets Dakim have the floor.

"We decided how to reward you two beforehand and I think this is more than appropriate." A screen flashes on with their current points. Mei's total jumps to just over twenty-eight hundred and Ryoko's jumps to twenty-two hundred.

Mei's eyes widen, "Thank you so much." She positively ecstatic. This puts her much closer to the number one spot in their division.

Ryoko looks quite satisfied too, but something else occupies his mind. This is great, but he'd much happier sharing this with Haruka. He tries not to show it, but he wasn't really too happy even when he knows he should be.

Lady Venus being the type of woman she is notices this immediately. "Now what is troubling you, Ryoko?" She seems a bit weary of these two hiding what was bothering them.

He pauses and figures he might as well just ask. "I truly appreciate this, but can I possibly exchange my points earned in exchange for seeing Haruka again?" He has a feeling he already knows the answer, but surprisingly no one speaks up.

Dakim finally breaks the silence. "That's an interesting question?" Even he's not sure if that's okay. He knows this whole issue is a disciplinary thing he just sort of signed off on so it would be more Miror B. and Ein's decision.

"I'm sorry, it's just no one's ever asked that before." Miror B. himself is surprisingly calm as he thinks about it.

Ein scratches his chin, "We chose this to teach you a lesson Ryoko, both you and Haruka are way too emotionally involved. It clouds your judgement."

"So just don't assign us on missions together for a while. It's not like she consumes my every thought. The proof is right in front of you." He points to the debriefing.

"I'm not sure," Ein definitely ponders this for a good long while.

"Oh cut the cord already Ein." Lady Venus cuts in. "They are two kids in love, you were they age once." She brings up a perfectly valid point.

Ein finally caves, he knows it'd make Haruka just as happy as it would make Ryoko. "You're really willing to forgo six hundred points for this?"

"Is that even a question?" Ryoko is confident in himself. The point system didn't make you any stronger, he could have zero for all he cared. All it did was weed out the weak and show who truly is committed to being top dog. Ryoko himself already knows he sits way higher than his current point total indicates, but that just means he's slightly less likely to get a higher rank in Cipher anytime soon. As long as he is with Haruka that's fine with him.

Conversely, he does care about it all the same, just cares more about Haruka naturally. Ein is surprised at the lengths Ryoko is willing to go, but if this really that important than who is he to stop him. "Alright, but there are a few conditions. One, no missions together. Two, no slacking on your work. Three, communication and visits are to be kept at a minimum. Finally, absolutely no sleeping over." The final point makes Venus laugh.

"I apologize, but that's rich. Will she have to wear a special belt?" She laughs aloud getting a light chuckle out of Miror B.

"Thank you, Venus." He says as sarcastically as possible. "Do you understand Ryoko?"

He nods stoically and thanks him. "This means a lot to me. I won't take this for granted."

"You're welcome, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow. Haruka is sleeping currently. She wore herself out working all night on a project. It was important and you know how she gets." Ein and Ryoko both know firsthand how she gets.

"Well if there is nothing further to talk about then I guess we're done here." B. speaks up and claps his hands. "Good work you two. I expect great things on both of your next missions."

The two stand and salute, "Thank you, sir." They turn to the admins on screen and salute them too. Ryoko and Mei take their leave.

As the door closes behind them Lady Venus smirks, "Has someone grown soft Ein?" Leave it to Venus to poke the bear. She can see right through Ein.

"Hardly, but I am not so cruel to deny someone the thing they desire more than power." Very aptly put and quite true. Ryoko willingly gave up something many grunts consider more precious than gold for the ability to be with Haruka.

"Yet I don't see his current point total changing back to what it used to be." Indeed Ryoko is still sitting at twenty two hundred points.

"Must be a glitch in the system." He feints ignorance. "Beside thanks to this raid we obtained a lot of plans as well as some names of their key players." Ein waves the folder and opens it up. One stands out to him most of all. "I must say I never thought I'd hear the name Takumi again."

"May just be a coincidence." Lady Venus suggests.

"I doubt it," Ein scratches his chin and looks over the document as if try to discover some hidden truths.

"Who is Takumi?" Gorigan seems pretty lost. Ein and Venus seem to know something he doesn't. Even Miror B and Dakim seem to respond to the name with a bit of reservation.

"Don't worry about him right now Gorigan." Dakim speaks stoically as the others remain silent. He would soon rather forget the name, as would everyone else.

"Let's get back to work." Ein breaks the silence as he signs out. The others are quick to follow. Leaving Miror B in the room in silence.

"Those two kiddies did awfully well for themselves. I knew this would be the perfect mission for them." He prances off happily and walks out of the conference room with his usual, overly cheer grin. "Oh Trudly, Folly!" He calls for his right hand men.

This mission didn't spell a happy end for everyone however. In the nigh endless desert of Orre a lone motorcycle powered by a massive engine and one wheel on the back rips through the harsh sands at incredible speeds. The destination an abandoned warehouse off in the distance.

The driver, a familiar face with his Espeon and Umbreon in the side cart. His face is filled with regret and anger as he speeds ever closer to his destination. He'd been driving all day; the sun has now long since set. The darkness of the desert provides excellent cover as he hides his bike behind the building and circles back around to the front.

A few light illuminate the warehouse with a few shadowed figured. One sits in a large chair in the middle of the establishment while another sits atop a mound of box and the third leaning against a large stack of palettes.

The first voice to speak up is sensual and feminine. She leans against the palettes and looks to him, "You've come back alone. I don't like the looks of that."

The man from atop the crates speaks down to him, "Come on man, you have one job. Look after the faction in Pyrite." He scoff with a haughty tone.

The young man sinks his head and balls his fist. "They were all captured by Cipher. They knew about our hideout and completely over ran us."

The man in the chair stands up tall and walks up to him and speaks with a deep, gruff voice. "Tell us exactly what happened Wes."

"There was a coordinated assault on the hideout. Cipher over took the place in less than an hour. I barely managed to escape, but lost Makuhita in the process. When I escaped I looked from the cliff face and saw Cipher convoys taking them all away."

"They're all in reeducation centers by now." The shadowed man speaks sorrowfully and steps out of the shadow. "This is a great loss, but we will not give up." He face is older and weary. He has short, slick backed, black hair with traces of gray in it.

"We need to strike now, I say we mobilize and take Eclo Canyon." The man, whom is no older than Wes, speaks up aggressively.

"Cary, we lost half our men in that raid. I doubt we'd stand a chance." The woman speaks up with a very strong point. They were not exactly to the scale Cipher was. Finding those willing to fight the oppression of Cipher were few and far between.

"Ebony is right, we're in no position to be assailing any Cipher compounds." The older mean speaks like a true leader and takes his seat once more. "We lost a lot of brave men today, but we will carry on. Wes do not feel bad about this. You did your best."

"Yes, Takumi." Wes nods and takes a seat on a grate near the entrance.

The night has overtaken day and it is now close to midnight. Haruka finally wakes up from her rather odd sleeping routine. She stretches and looks at her clock. "Oh god it's night?" She groans and rubs her eyes.

"Sleep well?" Ryoko asks from the foot of her bed.

Haruka stops for a second and then jumps on her bed over to Ryoko before throwing her arms around him. With a passionate kiss on the lips and a tight tug she begs the question. "What are you doing here?" She looks around to make sure Ein doesn't catch them together.

"Ein saw things my way," he leaves it at that and holds her close. "God, it feels like it's been forever." He sighs and rests one hand on her back and the other on the back of her head. "We can be together again, but not allowed to be on the same mission."

Haruka is more than happy with this. "Missions don't bother me. I'm just so happy to be here with you." She lets go slowly and sits beside him on her bed. One hand resting on his. "So what to do now? I mean it's almost midnight. Everyone is asleep."

"And you just got up. Please, don't pull all-nighters like that." He hands her a plate with the food Ein left out for her. "So what were you working on anyway?"

She eats quickly and answers between bites, "Just on how we can improve the quality of the Shadow Pokémon we produce. Took all night, but Ein and I came up with a solution." She's quite pleased with her results and it shows on her face. She gets up and notices she's not actually wearing any clothes. "Right, I should probably get dressed."

"Why? What are we going to do?" Ryoko didn't quite know what Haruka had in mind, but she started dressing none the less. What's more he was completely nonplussed by her state of undress.

"I was thinking we could grab something quick from the café and then take a walk around. Nothing too special, but something I would need clothes to do." She explains all this while she changes. Showing no qualms with Ryoko still in the room while she does so. Not that this is anything new for either of them. She notices a small smirk cross his face, "Funny, but I'm not in the mood to get chewed out for that."

"Again," he sports a wry smile which gets an unamused look from Haruka. He chuckles, "Don't look at me, you're the one who lost that bet." His comment earns him a playful tap on the back of the head. "Well dinner and a walk is fine with me. I can tell you all about my mission."

Haruka eagerly finishes dressing and wraps her arms around Ryoko's right. "I want all the details. From what I was told it was pretty impressive. Mei was also on the mission too wasn't she?"

The two step out into the vacant halls of the research lab and carry on their conversation. "Yeah, she did great out there. I mean she was the first one to charge in and everything. Alakazam and I provided support from the rear to make sure that no one escaped." He gives her the general run down on their plan. "Her Slowking and Slaking really did their jobs well. We snagged quite a few Pokémon in the process."

Haruka is all the more excited to here this, "Oh get anything good?" She is always thrilled to hear about any new and powerful Pokémon to add to their ranks. Especially with the latest tweaks to the Shadowification process.

Ryoko is also pretty happy with the pick-ups from the raid. "Mei got a Makuhita and I personally snagged myself a Huntail. We had a bunch of other decent Pokémon. I think someone got their hands on a dude's Vigoroth so that's definitely promising there."

Haruka listens intently while they head into the café. Both grab a quick late night meal and take seats at one of the small tables. The room is quiet and peaceful. Even the TV was off for the night. Neither of them minded any. It was better this way. They felt like they had the whole lab to themselves. It was a small semblances of peace in these otherwise chaotic times.

Even with Cipher's strong, dominating grip over Orre it was still a power struggle to keep hold on key locales. So ultimately Ryoko and Haruka had to stay sharp and work night and day to stay on top. Every one in Cipher did, and those who didn't often times didn't find themselves with Cipher for long.

Haruka continues asking about the mission. "Sounds like the mission was a total success. Anyone give you any troubles?"

Ryoko doesn't want to admit it, but he knows his hesitation is already speaking volumes about the matter. He sighs, "I might as well come clean. Mei was pursuing a guy who managed to get away."

"Mei let someone get away? How is that possible?" Mei is close to Haruka as well. Mei is like a sister to them both and share a long history together. So she knows Mei is incredibly fast despite her height. So giving her the slip is definitely hard to do.

"The punk had his Geodude use Self-Destruct to block off a path while he escaped. She got his Makuhita though. She took it really hard though. I explained to her that he was just some coward who surprised her, but she still blamed herself." Ryoko is not surprised, Mei took failure to heart and it usually affected her deeply.

"The admins understood didn't they?" Haruka doesn't believe for a second that they would penalize her for something like one guy giving her the slip.

Ryoko shakes his head, "Of course not, but let's just hope this guy doesn't come back to bite us in the ass." If he's anything like how Ryoko thinks, then this will not be the last time they see his face.

"Did we get a profile on him?" No surprise, Haruka is always one for gathering as much information as possible. She believes every little bit helps. Which Cipher's profiling and record keeping technology is state of the art so getting a picture of him would go a long ways.

"Sadly she didn't get a picture of him before her fled. Apparently from what I heard her description didn't match anyone in our system." Ryoko is willing to bet anything this guy had some way of removing himself from their systems, but that only raises of the question of how he did it.

"I don't like the sound of that." She looks down at her food as she finishes eating. "Anyway, enough about that. How are you?" She focuses solely on her boyfriend. Haruka lifts her hands onto the table and rests them on top of Ryoko's with a cheerful smile.

Ryoko smiles softly back, "Just battling other agents for more points. That's about it. I'll probably hit the simulator tomorrow." Right back to business. Though it wasn't like there was much else to talk about when you spend every moment working and training.

Haruka still seems interested never the less. "I've been helping Ein with the Shadow Pokémon, but my current pet project is making a more advanced visor system."

Ryoko cocks his head, "Why? They can already do everything a Pokedex and Aura Reader can."

She nods, "I know, but still I want to make them more compact like sunglasses, give them National Dex support patches, and faster data loading." Haruka seems excited by the idea.

Ryoko smirks, "That's all you babe, I don't know anything about that." Ryoko knows enough to operate a computer, the simulators, and his visor. Everything else was a bit over his head. Which is fine since Haruka is a natural tech wiz.

"That's why you're my field tester and I'm the developer. All you have to do is test them and stand there looking pretty." She giggles into her hand at her teasing.

Ryoko shrugs, "I'm fine with being the pretty one in this relationship." Ryoko on the other hand doesn't give the satisfaction and owns it.

Haruka rolls her eyes and gets up, "I'm sure Mei and all the guys will love to hear that."

"I can't help it when you have all this." He stands up and motions down his body with his hands as he tries not to laugh.

"Oh yes," Haruka runs her finger down his chest with a sultry grin on her face. She leans up and gives him a quick peck on the lips before taking his hand. The two make their way outside. A slight chill fills the air making Haruka shiver ever so slightly. Without a word Ryoko puts an arm around her and holds her close.

The exterior is small and unassuming despite its massive series of underground levels and chambers. The entire facility is approximately five times larger than what the build it sat under is. An electric fence surrounds the perimeter to prevent unauthorized entry so the two didn't have many places to walk to.

They approach the west end of the building and climb an emergency ladder to the roof of the building. Ryoko and Haruka both lie down and look up at the stars over Orre with tranquil smiles on their face. "The best view in all of Orre." Ryoko smiles and looks to Haruka who looks back at him.

"Wouldn't want to miss it." She scoots closer to Ryoko and rests her head on his firm chest. Haruka lightly rests an arm on Ryoko as he brings her close to drape his arms around her. "Can we just stay like this all night?" She's more than content. The cold doesn't even faze her.

Ryoko smiles, "Someday, but Ein was very clear about the sleeping over." Ryoko says this with a heavy heart. Not that he wouldn't go behind Ein's back in a second, but he did stick his neck out for Ryoko so best not to piss him off.

"Who said anything about sleeping?" Haruka winks with a snicker and impish grin. It doesn't take much effort on Ryoko's part to discern her not so subtle hinting.

"Well it's not like I'll be staying the night." He is starting to warm up to the idea. "But I'll have to leave as soon as we're done."

"Be still my beating heart." Her sarcasm is even less subtle than her flirting.

"Hey I don't want to get either of us in more trouble. Ein may have let up on his first restriction, but that could all go back if we're caught." While Ryoko has always been a bit more defiant than other agents he made sure it was never at risk to Haruka in anyway.

She pouts, "Fine, but you're mine for the next hour." She gets up and starts for the ladder.

"Yes ma'am," Ryoko is more than happy with those terms.

All are not quite as relaxed in Orre however. One individual is tirelessly training his Pokémon to ensure that he will not lose again.

"Umbreon use Bite!" His Eevelution attacks a Rhyhorn who just happened to be prowling the night. The aggressive and bulky Pokémon doesn't take the abuse lying down. A powerful Bulldoze shows Wes that this Pokémon meant business. Doing a surprising amount of damage to Umbreon even with his amazing defensive capabilities. He smirks and keeps up the offensive. "Assurance." Umbreon runs up and assails the Rhyhorn once more. There is a lot of weight behind the attack, but unfortunately Umbreon is not the strongest and Rhyhorn is quite a tank. Wes knew he was in for a war of attrition when he had his Umbreon attack the thing.

With a few good Rock Blasts Umbreon is forced back and left vulnerable to another Bulldoze. Umbreon takes the chance to hit with another Bite regardless. Wes instructs Umbreon to climb atop of Rhyhorn's back to throw it off guard. Umbreon grins wickedly as he continues to use Assurance on Rhyhorn. This makes Rhyhorn a little more than irritated as he tries shaking Umbreon off, but to no avail. Before too long the series of attacks eventually wear down Rhyhorn enough for Wes to try and capture him.

He throws a Pokeball which snatches up Rhyhorn right as Umbreon jumps off his back. The ball shakes once, twice, three times, and locks with a ping sound. Wes walks up silently and picks up the ball before calling back his Umbreon.

"You know Wes, most people sleep at night." A sultry voice calls from behind him alerting his attention. Ebony stands leaning against the factory's exterior wall. Her eyes shine like gold in the night even with the dark overcast hiding her and her naturally dark complexion.

"Training is more important." He would rather risk fatigue than submit to Cipher and his new enemy. The girl who stole his Makuhita.

Ebony smiles and rolls her eyes. "You're not going to be able to battle very well if you are already battling exhaustion." She walks up to him and looks into his eyes with a torrid gaze. She leans forward and whispers sensuously into his ear. "Sleep now, train later. It'll do you more good." She titters and walks off with an enticing sway in her step.

Wes decides she's right and finals heads back inside. Not that sleep was much of a release for him. Every night was filled with worries and concerns that they'd get caught in their sleep. It's a wonder how he could sleep at all. Still, sleep he does and he hates every second of it. Another second, minute, hour. Wasted. Wasted when he could be training. When he could be seeking revenge against the organization he's sworn to destroy.

Tales of heroes whom were no different from him or any other citizen taking a stand against corruption. Wes has heard the stories about how Team Rocket's organization was dismantled in Kanto thanks to the efforts of two trainers. Even Team Plasma's elimination years ago which originally sparked the flames of rebellion in his heart. Until the day Cipher is destroyed he will continue to fight from the shadows against the shadows casted over Orre.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well this chapter wasn't really a very action filled one, but it set the stage for some key players in the future. Cary and Ebony will be especially fun once we really get into their characters.


	4. Chapter 4: Shadowy Research

Chapter 4: Shadowy Research

It's the break of dawn and Ryoko is already hard at work in the gym. Phenac City had all the accommodations agents needed to get stronger including a full gym to both train Pokémon and themselves. Ryoko has always done his best to make sure he was in top physical condition. One, because it made him a better agent. Two, It honed his skills and sharpened his mind so he could react in any situation. Three, because it really turned Haruka on.

That aside, he'd kept his promise to Ein, after their late night romp he returned to the base. Not without Haruka trying to stop him, but his willpower prevailed. Sure, he may be kicking himself about it now, but much like Cipher; Ryoko is also playing towards a particular end game. So he'll play by their rules and eventually he'll get what he wants.

Working out in the morning was always his preference. He'd eat before he began, use the facilities when no one else was around, and train himself for a couple hours. He would never accept anything less than his best so every morning starts with a round of one-hundred push-ups, followed by one-hundred sit-ups, and finished it off with some lifting. This didn't take him very long, so he'd spend the rest of his time training on the various machines like treadmills and whatever else he felt like sparring on that day.

Usually at some point during his training Mei would join him. Unlike Ryoko she cared more about her leg strength and endurance. While she too followed a strict routine including push-ups and sit-ups to build strength and tighten her core. She still mostly trained on treadmills, cycles, and ellipticals. Then usually a mile run around the track.

Ryoko steps up on the treadmill beside Mei's and starts off slow. Mei on the other hand kept hers on a rather high speed setting. "Hey Ryoko, how was your night?" She asks because she didn't see him around the base the night before.

"It was good, I paid Haruka a late night visit." He says with a warm smile which is immediately turned back to a more determined gaze as he kicks up the speed.

Mei almost stumbles. "God Ryoko, I didn't need to know that!" She protests how willing he is to disclose that kind of information.

Ryoko rolls his eyes, "Not that genius." He does pause for a second, "I mean, yeah that, but that's not what I was talking about. We had a nice talk." He tries to recover, but the damage has been done.

Mei smiles brightly as she always does. "That's nice, at least Ein's gotten off your case for a little bit." Needless to say Mei's always been a big supporter of the two to the point she treated Ryoko like a little brother, despite her looking and acting considerably younger than him. Still, it didn't bother Ryoko any. He cared for Mei in much the same ways he cared for Haruka, both of them are very important to him for many reasons. The three of them are like family. Everyone in Cipher is like a large family in a way. Ein was like an over protecting father to Haruka, Dakim was like the big brother who always stood up for his agents, but knows how to be strict and doesn't take crap from anyone. Miror B. was the weird uncle no one liked to talk about. Though in all seriousness Miror B. may scold and bother Ryoko, but he was an admin for a reason. Very few can motivation agents the way B. can. As bizarre as his methods may be.

Ryoko eventually slows down and turns off the machine. He wipes a few beads of sweat from his brow and takes a deep breath. "That's enough for me today. I'm going to hit the showers and go check out the simulator." He waves goodbye to Mei who is still on the treadmill and in the zone.

He quickly freshens up and grabs a quick bite to eat before tackling the simulator. The mood around Phenac is unusual. Most agents, Ryoko included, are just casually strolling around town in their street clothes. While uniformed agents still patrolled the city, it was as if Phenac were just a normal, everyday city. Which for the most part it was. Agents lived as citizens, shops were opened and sold products, and even the Pokémon Center felt like any other Pokémon Center. To the naked eye no one would assume that Phenac was nothing more than a shell for Cipher activity, but this false life still had a life of its own.

Ryoko steps into a small, unassuming home like he lived there and casually shut the door. Inside was a massive array of screens and servers. One man sits in from of a few screens monitoring activity and reading over statistics.

He looks up and notices Ryoko right away. "Hey Ryoko, don't see you in here too often." The man stands up sporting a white lab coat and shakes Ryoko's hand.

"Hey Aiden, I just thought I'd get some practice in before I'm called off on my next mission. So got any new programs?" Ryoko looks at a list of over a hundred simulations for him to test out.

"Oh yeah, I just added a Trick Room team if you're willing to give that a shot. It's pretty challenging if I do say so myself." Aiden has always been regarded as an excellent tactician so his roles primarily involved him stay at the various bases and concocting plans. Statistical analysis, Pokémon stat calculation, and strategy indexing. He did it all with a smile on his face.

"Got any sims on combatting legendary Pokémon?" Ryoko's question seems to take Aiden by surprise.

"Whoa slow down there buddy." He puts up his arms in protest. "I admire your enthusiasm, but we don't have that kind of data." He says so regretfully.

"Well where can I find it?" Ryoko's interest has definitely been piqued now. Getting his hands on that kind of data would be very beneficial to both him and Cipher.

"Oh you know, just head down to the local Poke Mart and pick up some legendary Pokémon." Aiden is a bit on edge for good reason. "We have a database full of every Pokémon Cipher has ever collected. Stats, moves, and any other information we can gather."

"I get it, so the only way to get legendary Pokémon data is to have legendary Pokémon." He had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy. "So would there be any places where people with legendary Pokémon would have data stored?" Ryoko's good, but he doubts he'd be able to snag a legendary Pokémon so easily. Case and point, his botched mission to capture Zapdos and Moltres. Sure he wasn't using Cipher's more advanced technology and he made a bad judgement call, but the point still stands.

Aiden is about to tell him no out right when something comes to mind. "Wait, there might be." He pulls up a window on his computer and flashes two images. "These are two legendary Pokémon that were created. Mewtwo and Genesect."

"I think I remember hearing about Mewtwo somewhere." Ryoko examines the Pokémon more thoroughly. Something about Mewtwo seemed familiar.

"No real surprise, the press did a disturbingly good job or hiding the information, but we had spies on Cinnabar Island who witness the entire event." He pulls up several photos that stun Ryoko.

Pictures of Mewtwo flying through the air in a frenzy fighting off Meloetta and Rayquaza. Pictures of an older, bald man trying to control Mewtwo, a familiar young women, boy, and girl that makes Ryoko's blood run cold.

"Those three!" He points the screen which takes Aiden by total surprise. "That kid, Tom, and that women were the two who foiled our assault on Viridian City." He balls his fist and points to Tia. "That girl, Tia, is the reason we lost that shiny Gyarados, her and that damn Rayquaza of hers."

Aiden gives Ryoko a suspicious glance. "That's not her Rayquaza, it belongs to him. By the way that Tom kid is the current Pokémon World Champion and champion of the Kanto League. That woman is Saffron City gym leader Sabrina. The girl is just some ordinary trainer. She and Tom had practically taken down Team Rocket single handedly." He pulls out the very same article Ryoko and Haruka had read the night before.

"That doesn't make sense, she used Rayquaza and he obeyed her." He slams his fists down knowing this cannot be so.

"I'm telling you, she doesn't even have a legendary Pokémon." He protests, but Ryoko knows what he saw.

"I'm not lying Aiden, she used Rayquaza. Even ask Haruka." Ryoko's expression is dead serious. "I know what I saw, she had him use Dragon Pulse."

Aiden swallows hard, "Then let's hope to god none of them ever sets their sights on us."

Ryoko shakes his head, "Legendary Pokemon or not Cipher has enough strength and men that we could overwhelm two trainers even with a legendary Pokemon." He sighs hoping it won't come to that and gets back on track. "Anyway, about Mewtwo and Genesect. Where would I be able to learn more about these two?" Ryoko has a sense of asked and answered since Aiden will no doubt point him towards one man.

"That'd be Ein of course. Man gathers pretty much every scrap of data he can about Pokémon. He would know more than anyone about the Mewtwo and Genesect projects." Aiden worked closely with Ein developing the visor technology used in every agent's headpieces "By the way, tell your girlfriend to stop messing with our visors. Every time she tries experimenting with her prototype it sends back false flags and it's really annoying."

"I'm going to pretend I understand that." Ryoko waves him off and walks out of the building. Ryoko sighs knowing that contacting Ein is really the last thing he wants to do. Regardless, this is an issue he wants to address.

Ryoko heads back to the main base to hopefully find a way to contact Ein directly. The main facility is pretty full with agents running back and forth. That's normal for the slower times when all is pretty stable in Orre. No big missions or reasons to leave the base. Since peace for Cipher meant peace for Orre it was rare that something caused some level of ripple effect that shook the whole region.

It's at this point Ryoko can't help feel like he's just walking around aimlessly since he doesn't have a direct line to Ein, he could try seeing if Haruka could get an audience with Ein for him, but he knows she's probably tied up in work and away from her computer and X-Transceiver. It's not uncommon for Haruka to lock herself away in a room with little to no outside communication. Ryoko takes it in stride, but even every so often wished she wasn't so drastic with her work.

Just when Ryoko is ready to give up for the day he hears the sound of ridiculous and loud samba music. He cringes, he almost walks away, but he readies himself and walks towards the cacophony of bizarre music. Inside the large open room is a giant screen with men and women dressed like idiots dancing. While bright, strobe lights fill the room. This may be one of the most ludicrous things Ryoko's every seen in his life, but he begrudgingly enters the room.

Miror B. does a few spins as he dances and notices Ryoko covering his ears. "Why hello Ryoko was the music so compelling you just had to join in?" Miror B. laughs and continues to dance wildly before moon walking over to Ryoko.

"No actually," he wants to tell Miror B. to shove it, but he opts for the more polite route. "I was hoping I could ask a favor." There it is, the one word Ryoko hates more than most. In Cipher a favor never goes unpaid, it's the law of the land practically.

Naturally this piques Miror B.'s interest enough for him to stop the music. "A favor you say? Could it be the great and mighty Ryoko needs help from little, old me?" Of course B. would revel in it, he seems to take a fancy to seeing Ryoko cringe. "So what can I do for you my boy?" He sits on his desk and cross one leg over the other eagerly.

"I need to get in touch with Ein." Straight to the point, anything to get this conversation over with quicker. Ryoko knows Miror B. has a direct line to Ein's office as well as more than enough authority to boss any agent around until he reaches him.

"Oh and whatever for? I was under the impression you were never a fan of his." Rightfully so Ein and Ryoko fought constantly. If it were anyone other than Ryoko this level of insubordination wouldn't be tolerated. Even then he's standing on real thin ice.

"I know we lack certain information and I was hoping Ein could shed more light on the matter." Ryoko is a bit cryptic, but it is important information that I doesn't want just anyone to know. "Since you'll be my go between you'll hear everything anyway."

Miror B. rubs his chin and nods, "Well that sounds exciting enough, so I'll allow it. Though you know you'll owe me after this." Miror B. gets a wicked grin across his face.

"Trust me, I'm well aware." Still doesn't make Ryoko feel any better. He knows B. is the type of guy to just call on a favor whenever the mood strikes him. It could be years down the line, but damned if he'll forget.

"Alrighty-roo then." He jumps up and sets up a call. With a few button presses the call goes out and Ein flashes up on screen.

Ein sits in his chair curiously at Miror B. and Ryoko. "Hello Miror B. I can't say I was expecting a call from you today."

B. nods, "Well it seems this young lad has somethings he wishes to speak to you about." He gives Ryoko the floor.

Ein pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs, "I already let you be with Haruka again. What more could you possibly want?"

Ryoko shakes his head, "This isn't a personal matter. I was using our simulator and I noticed we were missing a lot of data."

"What do you mean _missing_?" Ein made sure any data in Cipher's possession was easily accessible to the simulator. "Was there problems with the sim?"

"No, Aiden and I were talking and I realized we don't have any data on legendary Pokémon." Ryoko flashes a rather devious grin.

Ein perks up ever so slightly after hearing that. "True, but we have no accurate ways of acquire that kind of information without first catching legendary Pokémon."

"What about Mewtwo and Genesect? They were artificially created so any data on them would be stored in a lab somewhere. I highly doubt that it just got destroyed. Someone has to have it." Ein is quickly picking up on what Ryoko is proposing.

"So you want to see if you can get the information yourself?" Ein is definitely interested now. "I can think of a few locations where such data would be stored."

Ryoko nods, "Good, but that's not it. We have technology on par and greater than Rocket and Plasma did. Why not manufacture our own Mewtwo and Genesect?"

Ein is stupefied, "I must say I like your way of thinking."

Ryoko doesn't stop there, "This would also give you a chance to test of shadowification was possible while a Pokémon was still in its egg. I know you've been trying to make the perfect Shadow Pokémon for a long time now. Just imagine a Shadow legendary Pokémon."

Ein puts up a hand, "You've certainly done your homework Ryoko. You don't need to butter me up anymore. I'll allow it. Though where will you even begin looking?"

Ryoko had an idea where to start, but it was on a whim more than anything. "Team Rocket operated primarily out of Kanto and Johto, so one of the major cities there. According to our sources Mewtwo is currently on Cinnabar Island under the watch of gym leader Blaine. That said, I would prefer not having to go straight to the source, because that could be messy. So some recon throughout Kanto's major cities where we know they operated out of would be best." Ryoko's plan will require a more patient and methodical touch. Not usually his style, but if it's that important then he'll make sure he can follow through.

"Going undercover I see." Ein gives Ryoko a wry smile and chuckles. "Very well, but to do this mission you'll need a top level hacker. Since Haruka is out of the question I can get another one of my top agents to assist you."

"Somehow I knew that'd be the catch. So who will this agent be and when can we meet?" Ryoko gets down to the nitty-gritty just the way Ein likes it.

Ein reaches into his file cabinet and waves a document. "Her name's Mika. She is a top notch hacker, not quite on Haruka's level, but she more than makes up for that in her able to pull off covert missions."

"So she's a spy?" This piqued Ryoko's interest. Having an actual trained spy was definitely a good asset to have.

Ein nods, "I'll send you her file and she'll be at Phenac City in an hour. Get packed and she'll help with a good cover I.D." Ein is about to hang up when he pauses, "Also, if this goes well. You will be rewarded handsomely." He ends the call abruptly as the fax spits out Mika's reports.

Miror B. just stands in the corner with a look of pure astonishment. "Well someone's become quite the fresh, young go-getter if I do say so myself." B. is beaming with pride. "Our little Ryoko is all grown up."

Ryoko rolls his eyes, "I saw an opportunity and decided to take it. It's what we do."

"Exactly, but to be so proactive like this is impressive I must say. Well I'll let you get ready." B. opens the door for Ryoko as he looks through Mika's file.

Ryoko hurries back to his room to get packed and bone up on his new partner in this mission of his. Without a doubt word will spread fast if he says anything, so he'll have to keep this on the down low. Though Mei and Haruka will no doubt question why he's going to Kanto. So they will be privy to his plan. Since he knows he can trust them.

He packs a small bag with all the essentials; potions, Pokeballs, food, sleeping bag, and a change of clothes. All to sell his cover as a trainer. He may need to find a way to get registered as an official trainer as to not raise suspicion, but that may just be overly cautious.

Once he's done he lies on his bed and starts reading through the file. Needless to say Mika's reports are quite impressive. Over a hundred missions for Cipher, most of which were spy operations. As well as a good ranking in Ein's research base.

Ryoko is interrupted by his computer ringing, no doubt he knows whose calling. He picks it up happily. "Hey babe."

Haruka smiles and waves to the screen. "Hey dear, I heard you have a big mission." He knew it was only a matter of time before it got back to Haruka. News has a way of spreading like wild fire.

"Yeah doing a bit of data hunting." He keeps it vague so he can gauge what she already knows. "What have you heard so far?"

"Something about getting data on rare Pokémon?" Well Ryoko can say safely that Ein wasn't a total blabber mouth. "What kind of Pokémon are you trying to get?"

Ryoko smirks confidently. "I'm going after data on Mewtwo and Genesect."

Haruka's jaw practically drops. "Legendary Pokémon? How? I mean I know they're artificially created Pokémon, but where did you get this idea from?"

"Your boyfriend's pretty sharp isn't he?" Ryoko happily pats himself on the back. "I was checking out the sim today and realized we didn't have data on legends so I thought I could remedy that. Also, maybe find a way to make our own legendary Pokémon. That'd be R&amp;D's job of course." He points to Haruka knowing this was like a wet dream for her.

Her eyes light up, "Ryoko, I could kiss you!" Unfortunately miles of desert separated them. "One second." She hangs up out of the blue. Her sudden ending confused Ryoko, but he has a feeling he knows what's going to happen.

He hears a knock at his door. He walks up and braces himself. The second he opens the door Haruka practically throws herself at him. He embraces her advance with both arms as he catches her. She kisses him and clings to him. "See I told you." She laughs and releases him from her grasp.

"I had a feeling you'd love hearing that, but I will be away for a while on this mission. There is a lot of intelligence gathering and I will have a top hacker with me." He certainly wishes it was Haruka, but he'll make due.

"Who will that be?" She's definitely curious now.

"That'd be me, spring flower." A woman's voice interrupts from behind Haruka.

Without even turning around she knows who it is. No one else calls her spring flower. She quickly whirls around, "Mika, you're Ryoko's partner?"

The two have a bit of a history. Haruka worked with Mika quite a bit in the past and learned a lot from her. Haruka steps aside giving Ryoko a better glance of his partner. She's older than Ryoko by twelve years, but certainly didn't look it. Her complexion matched Ryoko and Haruka's with a bit lighter tones. Her hair is brown and long with it swept over her left shoulder. Though she wore sunglasses when she lowered her head her silver irises were in perfect view. Often known as her Quicksilver eyes, due to her methodical nature and ability to notice even the small changes in her surroundings. A bona fide spy through and through.

She sizes up Ryoko, "Okay chief, this is your mission so you'll take point. Still we have to cover our bases. What's your cover I.D.?"

Ryoko hesitates, "Well I figured I'd just pose a trainer."

Mika just shakes her head, "Because just any trainer can walk into Silph Co. or other known classified areas Team Rocket's worked out of."

"Well, I figured we're starting in Celadon City." Ryoko defends his plan, but Mika is having none of it.

"Yeah, so how will you be getting in the Game Corner's basement, only people with clearance or maintenance workers get in there." She's clearly put a lot more thought into planning this than Ryoko initially had.

"I should probably leave you two alone so you can plan." Haruka nervously shows herself the door and teleports out before Ryoko can beg her to stay.

"You didn't think about any of this did you?" Mika's not very amused at this point. Though she can't really expect every grunt to have the same level of experience she does.

"I will admit I kind of focused more on getting Mewtwo's data and less on the plan to do so." Ryoko can't deny he wasn't the best when it came to plans that involved more than search and siege. "Well then what do you suggest?" He looks to Mika for advice.

"Well first you need a cover I.D. which is easy enough to forge. We'll get you in the system as a trainer. Just pretend you're new to Kanto and wanting to take on the gym or something. So that'll require a new name and a cover." Mika's approach definitely seems more air tight, but that didn't change one key aspect of her plan.

"Where would I tell people I'm from? I'm clearly from Orre." People of Orre, especially the natives have a very distinctive skin tone and body features.

Mika sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose, "That does create a bit of a problem. Look just say you're from like Hoenn or something. There's enough tropical islands to explain your darker complexion. Pick one."

This is where Ryoko's lack of worldly knowledge shows. He knows some towns and cities due to their interactions with Team Rocket and other groups, but he couldn't name many cities outside of Orre. "How about Lilycove?" It's the first major city to come to mind.

Mika nods, "That's good enough." She rights down some notes and heads for the door. "Get ready, I'll have all the necessary details and . Then we'll be on our way."

Ryoko nods silently and continues gathering his things. He knows that this will be the most important mission he's ever been on, failure is most assuredly not an option.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review on this chapter, the series, or the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well this really set the stage for what will be a huge part of this story from here on out. This is where the story really starts to diverge between h\the multiple characters in the world. Expanding on Orre, Ryoko in other region, and overall the different activities going on day to day with Cipher. I hope you're all excited.


	5. Chapter 5: Shadow Tournament

Chapter 5: Shadow Tournament

Pyrite Town has long since been a foot hold in Cipher's affairs and secret agendas. Hosting the single broadcasting studio in Orre, Cipher was sure to use it to spread their dark propaganda to the citizens whether they liked it or not. Though, censorship was not heavily enforced, lying was certainly commonplace in Cipher's televised broadcasts.

Whether it be reports of rebel activities, programming to boost morale for citizens and agents, or just to fabricate a story of rebels threating the peace. Cipher wasn't a stranger to occasionally detonating decommissioned bases if it incited a certain level of fear towards the rebels in the general populous. Fabricate a causalities report, have one of their many government officers sign off on it, and instant recipe for terroristic attacks. All of which could be done from the comfort of Pyrite Town.

The former mining town also has a number of other places of interest. One being their gigantic colosseum powered by the neighboring windmill, the towns Battle Square, a large circle in the center of town where trainers gather to battle, and a uncharacteristically luxurious hotel.

Pyrite is a hub of activity, but Mei found herself in one of the many speckled shops around town. Down a dark, unassuming alley lied a small auto mechanic shop. Chaser's Auto Repair. A small hole in the wall for sure, but one of Cipher's go to mechanics.

Inside the large garage door leads right into the heart of the shop. Hydraulic lifts, power tools, and parts galore around one of Cipher's standard model jeeps. In desperate need of a new radiator Mei volunteered to take it in for service. Beyond the garage was a loft towards the back with a couch, T.V., and fully stocked kitchen.

Mei lies lazily on the couch, drinking, and watching T.V. while she waited. "Man this is boring. Ryoko's office doing some sort of special mission, Haruka's stuck researching day and night, and I'm stuck with nothing to do. No missions; nothing." She complains to the mechanic while she watches T.V.

"Don't ya have training or something ya could be doin' in the meantime?" The mechanic pipes up as he fights with the radiator. "Or I don't know? Help me?"

"Chase, you're not seriously asking little old me for help are you?" Mei giggles while pretending she's all helpless. "I will admit I love your T.V. it's like the only one in the whole region that pipes in stations from other regions."

"Not for nothing Mei, I like having ya around, but you come in here; lie on my couch, drink my beer, and watch my television. I think ya can help me with the radiator."

Mei rolls her eyes and walks down to Chase who was struggling to undo a particularly rusted bolt. Mei nudges him aside takes hold of the wretch and slowly, but steadily loosens the bolt. "There you go, you big baby."

Chase shakes his head, "I loosened it up for ya." He grabs one end of the radiator while Mei took the other end and lifts it out of the jeep. Chase sighs and wipes off his forehead. "Thank you. I can handle the rest."

"So bored, what should I do today?" Her whining bothers Chase, but he's one of her best friends so it's nothing new.

"How the hell should I know? Battle someone at the Battle Square." He knows that few things make Mei happier than battling.

She shrugs, "Bush league trainers like them aren't worth my time really. You know that Chase. I need a real challenge."

He rolls his eyes, "Aren't they doin' a tourney at the Realgam Tower for a Shadow Pokémon or something?"

Mei perks up, "They are? Sweet, I love it when they do those!" She pulls out a Pokeball and calls out an Abra she cared for Teleport purposes. "Thanks Chase." She waves goodbye.

"Have fun," he smirks as she teleports away. "Wait. Who the hell is going to drive the damn jeep back now!?" Looks like Mei's given him a new job. Delivery boy.

"I'm telling you, Wes. Training against a bunch of wild Pokémon in the desert isn't going to cut it if you want to get stronger." A slender, stoic figure leans against the side of the giant metal facility in the shadows. "You gotta fight real trainers eventually." Wes doesn't seem too interested in his partner's advice.

"I have my own routine Cary." Wes looks back at the silver haired guy who looked no older than Wes himself. "Besides, we can't risk exposing ourselves." Paranoia ran rampant through most rebels' minds after the recent siege and their numbers dropped even lower as a result.

Cary shakes his head and covers himself with the hood if his gray sweat shirt. His skin is very pale and was easily susceptible to sun burn, plus it helped hide his identity. "Well, be careful then. You know how to do that. Eb's been saying you need to trainer against real trainers too." Cary and Ebony are a well-known duo in the rebellion. They have the highest success rate when it came to battling Cipher grunts next only to Takumi. He speaks softly and smoothly with his slightly high pitch voice. "Come on, I know you want to beat that girl who stole your Makuhita. This is a means to an end." Cary has a certain knack for making people see his way of thinking. Much Like Ebony, Cary has quite a silver tongue and is not afraid to use it.

"Fine, what did you have in mind?" Wes reluctantly hears him out. He can at least trust Cary's judgement. Wes may be a strong trainer, but Cary definitely has more experience under his belt.

"Check it," he pulls out a P*DA which showed an ad for a new tournament at the Realgam Tower. "This is perfect for training. Plus, you get a free Shadow Pokémon out of it. Sure that's not a huge plus, but it's one less Shadow in Cipher's hands."

Wes looks at Cary like he's crazy, "This is a Cipher sponsored event. Grunts will be crawling all over the place. How is this a good idea?" Wes can't even begin to describe how terrible this could be if they got caught.

"Calm down dude, it'll be fine. I'll be there with you and you know I'll never let us get caught." Wes wants to question how Cary knows this will be a certainty, but he figures it's best not to question it. "Alright we'll tell the others and we'll be off."

Cary wants to the entry of the warehouse and waves to Ebony and Takumi. "Yo Eb, Takumi! Wes and I are heading to the Realgam Tower for some training. If we're not back by nightfall you know what to do."

Ebony gives the two an amorous look of delight with her sultry, gold eyes. "Wonderful, you've finally taken our advice Wes." She speaks, but doesn't raise her voice. She instead keeps her usual air of sophistication in her tone. "Do be careful you two. Lest we have to save you to from uncertain demise." She giggles softly with a coy smile.

"We'll be fine, just going out for some good, old fun." Cary's definition of fun certainly didn't mesh with Wes's. Though what was fun anymore? With Cipher's influence constantly threatening them. Fun was not something he had too much of.

The two hop into Wes's motorcycle and ride off towards Realgam Tower. While it still stood several miles away it was large enough to be seen across the dry, flat landscape. While appearing as nothing more than a tiny figure, the apex of the tower stood out most of all.

The tower is a shining example of Cipher's structural engineering and technological prowess. Standing over twenty stories tall and equipped with state of the art technology to ensure that security and entertainment existed in perfect harmony. Slot machines, Battle Bingo, Battle Sims, and of course the Realgam Colosseum itself draw in plenty of crowds and was a great place to just have fun. While it is a Cipher facility there was little involvement from Cipher itself outside of security detail. It is often time described as the one place in Orre where people have any semblance of a normal life.

Mei teleports in and heads right for the counter to register. "Hello, I'd like to register for the tournament if there's any spaces left." She gives a chipper smile and hopes that she isn't too late. She notices a few people standing around with registration slips waiting for the event to begin.

The receptionist smiles warmly, "Yes, we still have a few spots to fill. Just please fill out your information and I'll print your slip." A screen lights up on the table for Mei to fill out. She eagerly types away and gets her slip. "Enjoy the tournament."

"Thank you," she walks off and begins sizing up her opponents. No one too impressive looking, but she wasn't about to underestimate her opponents. She looks up at a screen with details on the tournament. A small eight person tourney with the grand prize being a Shadow Lapras. Pretty nice considering the Pokémon.

From the entry way two individuals make their way into the base of the tower and hop on the elevator all the way to the top. Not too far behind Mei; Wes and Cary both greet the receptionist. Wes looks around nervously, "Yes, I'd like to register for the tournament."

The receptionist smiles and gives Wes the same instructions as Mei and gives him a slip. He and Cary walk off and mesh their way into the crowd. "Chill dude, everything will be fine. Everyone knows Cipher only really watches the slot machines so people won't cheat."

Wes sighs as he looks around, "I guess you're right. If we're going to get caught it would have happened by now."

Cary looks around at the other people gathered in the lobby. Mostly just people passing by or spectators that waiting for the event to begin. One person seems to stand out more than the rest. Cary whistles, "Hey Wes, check out the short blonde over there. She's a real looker." He quietly points out the woman in question.

Wes doesn't seem overly interested, but he looks knowing Cary wouldn't stop bugging him otherwise. He takes a quick glance and immediately feels his stomach sink like a stone. "Oh god no." He recognizes Mei immediately and begins to step back.

Cary gives him a confused look, "Geez, I know you're not into blonds, but come on she's not that bad. She's got a bangin' body."

Wes shakes his head, "No you idiot, she's the girl I fought off in the cave in the raid. She's with Cipher."

Cary seems a bit surprised, "Really? Small region I guess. Why don't you go up and say high then," he laughs like this is somehow normal, "wish her luck in the tournament."

"That's a terrible idea." Wes is ready to leave as he eyes the door.

"Come on dude, just go talk to her. Introduce yourself, ask her name; maybe buy her a drink." Cary is having a bit fun at Wes's expense.

"I'm not asking her out on a date Cary." Wes rolls his eyes and continues to back off towards the door.

"The same principles apply. It's called sizing up the competition. Know thy enemy, like Eb always says." Wes still thinks it's a terrible idea, but he never would have gotten where it was today by being a coward.

He reluctantly steps forward and walks up to Mei. As he drew closer he notices she was sporting a similar slip that he had. She's in the tournament too. He's less than thrilled to find that out, but he decides to just grin and bear it. He speaks up catching her attention. "So you're in this tournament too?"

Mei immediately looks at Wes with great distain. "You sure have a lot of balls to just walk up to me like this."

Wes matches her intensity, "Well you would have noticed I was here eventually. Plus, I know you wouldn't try anything in front all of these people."

She smirks, "You clearly don't know me very well." That said she decides not to act since if any commotion broke out he'd no doubt use the panic to slip away from her. "So who are you, mysterious rebel?"

"Name's Wes, but call me the guy who will get his Makuhita back." He looks down at her with an even greater spite.

Mei stands on her toes to elevate herself, but still finds herself just short of his face. "Oh you'll love seeing what I did with him. My name's Mei by the way. Remember it."

"I'll never forget." He leans down so their faces are mere inches from the other. Their gazes lock in an intense stare just waiting for the other to strike.

"You wouldn't dare raise a finger to little old me now would you?" She's mocking him at this point, but she knows it's true.

As much as he'd love to give her a taste of his back hand Wes more civil than that. "I'd never hit a girl."

"Girl? I'm older than you, boy." This gets a puzzled look from Wes. "Surprised? I'm twenty-one. Now if you'll excuse me I have a tournament to win." She turns on her heels and walks off. She briefly stops and looks back at Wes, "I suppose we'll settle this in the finals." She already can tell Wes is going to be final opponent in this tournament. Which surprisingly makes her a little excited. Not every day she gets to knock around her sworn enemy.

Cary walks up and puts an arm on Wes's shoulder. "She's pretty hot isn't she?"

Wes just shakes his head, "Can you please stop thinking with your crotch for one second? She's our enemy. This is not the time for random hook ups."

"You need to loosen up man, at this rate you'll be so nervous you won't be able to concentrate on the battle at hand. Just take a look." Cary points to a screen with the official bracket up.

From left to right the bracket it broken into four pairings. Round one was Mei versus a rather nervous looking man named Andre. A body builder named John versus a petite and fragile looking girl named Hanna. Wes versus an older woman with a bizarre purple hat named Charlotte. Finally, a woman closer to Wes's age named Jess versus a suave and pompous looking man named Brody.

"Looks like some stiff competition there Wes." Cary laughs and pats him on the back. "Knock her dead." He winks and pushes Wes forwards as the competitors file through the doors towards the colosseum.

"Stop that." Wes protests, but to no avail and Cary just smiles and waves with a cheesy grin. The group all make their way to a small room where they await the beginning of the tournament. Most keep to themselves as they take their seats. Seating was scares leaving really only eight chairs for each competitor. Which puts Wes in the unfortunate situation of being sat next to Mei.

"Really, you _had _to sit here?" She crosses her arms and turns her head away.

"Not much choice, trust me. I'd sit on the opposite end of the room if I could." Wes is equally uncomfortable with his seating arrangement.

"Whatever," she quickly whispers. "_Asshole._"

"_Bitch,_" it wasn't in Wes's nature to be petty or stoop down to other peoples' levels, but he couldn't stand Mei for a multitude of reasons.

The young woman dressed in bright colors runs in excitedly. "Hello! I'll be your announcer today and round one is ready to begin. Could competitors Mei and Andre please step forward?" Both Mei and her opponent walk up to the announcer.

Though not before Wes gets in another snide remark to Mei. "Hope you lose." He says enthusiastically. Mei wasn't afraid to be petty either though when she steps on his foot as she walks past. Wes grits his teeth and grabs his foot. "Ah dammit woman."

Mei giggles and sticks her tongue out at him before she departs. The announcers excitedly walks them out with a vibrant spring in her step. The hallway ends with an elevator and a fork which leads down two hallways each with a sign indicate red and blue sides of the arena.

"Alright, Ms. Mei you'll be on the red side and Mr. Andre will be blue. Remember to put on a good show and have fun!" The announcer steps into her elevator as Mei and Andre both take their places.

The elevators raise them up onto the stage where the announcer eagerly introduces the combatants. "Hello ladies and gentlemen, boy do we have a show for you today! Our combatants will be fighting for the lovely prize of this Lapras!" She points to a picture of the Lapras on screen.

Some may say it's cruel and inhumane to give away Pokémon as a contest prizes, but Cipher simply saw it as a way to entice people to join Cipher after seeing the strength of a Shadow Pokémon first hand.

"For our first match in the red corner is Mei and in the blue corner, Andre!" The crowd cheers, most likely for Mei since there's a number of Cipher agents in the crowd. While Andre stands nervously as the battle begins.

Cary looks from the main lobby on a large screen. He picks up his PD*A and calls up Ebony. "Yo Eb, you might want to tune into this tournament it's looking to be an interesting one." He smugly watches the first round unfold.

Mei leads off with her Magcargo and Makuhita. A move she knows will really hit home hard. Wes does all he can not to punch the wall as Mei shamelessly flaunts his Pokémon right in front of his face. It pissed him off enough that he hopes for her defeat more than anything.

Though that wasn't looking too likely. Mei's strategy consisted of having Makuhita using Bulk Up and Magcargo using Shell Smash for the initial stat buffs then hitting hard with a series of Force Palm attacks all the while Magcargo was spewing out Flamethrowers in every direction to keep her opponents Pokémon at bay.

"Crap, she's actually really good." Wes is definitely not liking his odds after seeing this match. Sure, her opponent is a total wuss, but never the less Mei is incredibly strong. Wes seems to notice a couple of the other combatants looking uncomfortable seeing her perform out there.

Not even five minutes later the battle was over. A total shut out. Mei won without a single faint on her side. From what it looked like her early game was what helped secure a strong lead. The strong momentum of her team and strategizing is what led to overall victory though. She definitely wasn't a slouch when it came to battling that's for sure. Wes better watch out or else he will be crushed before he knows what hits him.

Mei walks back in triumphant and more than a little proud of herself. Feeling cocky she sits beside Wes with an air of superiority. "Like what you saw?" She happily gloats.

"It was okay," his nonplussed reaction stung harder though. "Your opponent was a wimp. I guess picking on the weak is a Cipher grunt's specialty though." Definitely a hit below the belt, but Wes didn't care. At this point he's willing to get off as many cheap shots as he can.

Mei is fuming after that last insult. She grabs him by the collar and looks him dead in the eyes. "Listen here you bastard. You know nothing about Cipher or our noble intentions. We want only the strong for our goals of rebuilding this desolate wasteland into the utopia our master envisions it to be." Her rousing speech definitely opens Wes's eyes to the truth of Cipher and the grunts who serve it.

"My god, they've got you completely brain washed. Cipher does nothing but oppress the people of Orre. Your _noble goals_ involve destroying families, forcing people into servitude, and spreading your propaganda like you're preparing for a new world order." Wes's perspective is naturally completely different from Mei's experiences.

"How dare you!" She resists the urge to create a seen, because she knows he's not worth it. "Cipher took me in as a baby. Raised me, made me a part of their family. I owe my life to Cipher. Insult them is insulting me." She let's go of his collar hoping to just drop the topic.

"So you personally want to take responsible for ruining the lives of those around you? Like those rebels you captured and detained. I know for certain some of those men and women were fathers and mothers. Now they will never see their families again."

That's a cheap shot even by Mei's standards, "This was their choice. You can't blame me for their poor decision to defy Cipher. They knew the risks going in."

"Victim shaming? You really are heartless." He can't even describe how much she frustrates him. Cipher truly is nothing but a bunch of monsters.

"You know what-" Mei's quickly cut off by the bubbly announcer walking in.

"Alright it's time for the third battle of round one. Will Wes and Charlotte please step forward?" She excitedly brings them forward and leads them down the hall in the same way she had with Mei.

Wes takes the stage on the red side and opens up with his Umbreon and his new Pokémon, Rhyhorn. His opponent had a rather unfavorable combination of a Plusle and Haunter. Wes is a good sport most of the time. Even though he's got his opponent dead to rights with the rather poor match up; he wouldn't just wipe their team out ruthlessly. Although, today has not been a good day for him so his anger takes hold of his better judgement.

Mei watches passively from her seat and is surprised to see Wes battling just as ruthlessly as she did. "Well someone's a bit of a hypocrite." She chuckles darkly as she watches his Pokémon tear apart Charlotte's team with ease. As aggressive as he may be there were still some very noticeable holes in his defense that Mei could see at a glance. He was careless when he was angry. Something she will definitely have to remember for their match. She has no doubt she'd beat Wes without batting an eye, but Mei is a true trainer and a true trainer knows how to exploit their opponent's weaknesses. The more crushing the defeat the more soul crushing it will be to Wes. This thought alone is enough to excite Mei.

From the lobby Cary is rather pleased to see how much stronger Wes has become, but he too sees the blatant holes in his defense. Sure Umbreon and Rhyhorn can take hits with the best of them, but even they can only take so much. "_What are you doing man?_" Cary worries that Mei might have gotten under his skin. If it weren't for the fact that Wes's opponent is just pretty bad he would have probably lost.

Regardless, Wes walks out victorious. He confidently struts back into the room where the remaining competitors give him a look of worry, the same look they gave Mei when she arrived triumphant. He sits down beside Mei in an attempt to gloat. "So how was that?" He asks her with a smug tone.

"Honestly, that was pretty bad. I mean you're lucky your opponent battles like a five year old or else you would have been creamed. So thank you for alleviating my concerns. Not that I had any." Mei's pompous reply and critical thoughts on his battling got him worked up even more. "Yeah get angrier that'll really help your judgement skills." Now she's just poking the bear. Knowingly of course.

He balls his fist, urge to punch her rising, but he knew she was right. He hated admitting it, but he knew it's true. So instead he lets out a deep breath and unclutches his hands. "You're right, thank you. I was losing my cool."

Mei scowls, "Screw you, I wasn't trying to help." She crosses her arms, "I was hoping you'd lose your head and I'd curb stomp you in the final round."

"Such a good sport." His biting sarcasm and scowl make his distain all the more apparent. "Nice to see Cipher employs such kind people like yourself."

"Oh I'm sorry I don't cozy up to people trying to disrupt our very way of life!" Mei says a bit louder than she meant, but quickly pipes up.

"Your way of life? What making others suffer for your luxury?" Wes was just as steadfast in his beliefs as Mei was.

"You're right, the lower class have never been unfairly treated in society. Everyone is equal and the sky is made of rainbows and cotton candy. Get real kid. The world sucks. The sooner you realize that the sooner you'll stride to take what's rightfully yours and crush those who stand in your way." Her bitter world views are not without a kernel of truth, but Mei's cynical outlook on life only made Wes realize one thing.

"You have no idea what's really like to live." He knows this will be met with very strong hostility, but this is what he firmly believed.

Mei practically growls as she resists the urge to desk him, "I will personally destroy any hope you have in this world with my bare hands." Her threat is vicious and all too sincere. She wishes she could bury this man now.

Wes was stunned, he knew she was not a good person, but Mei found a way to actually shake him. Her cold malice disturbed him greatly. He looks away feeling like he's showing weakness, but he wasn't going to let her rattle him anymore. Wes sees the final match of the first round was drawing to a close which meant Mei would be up again soon. Then Wes would have his match and then the two could finally settle this is a battle in front of everyone.

* * *

Thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. So Wes and Mei definitely learned a lot about the other today. Both have equally valid points though it's obvious Mei's ideals are a bit more corrupt that Wes's ideals are. This is all the other knows, Mei was raised by Cipher and Wes was raised under Cipher's oppression. Naturally their world views will differ greatly. Especially when it comes to how Cipher operates. It's not necessarily morally ambiguous, but it's still a matter of how the other was raised. Nature vs. Nurture.


	6. Chapter 6: A Somber Finish

Chapter 6: A Somber Finish

The semifinals go by without a hitch. Both Wes and Mei clearing their second battle with ease. Helped that both their opponents were far less capable trainers than they were. Which mean it was down to the final match of the tournament. The match that had a lot more tension and stakes riding on it then anyone in the crowd could realize. Mei and Wes had a score to settle with one another. Wes for the people who were captured in Cipher's raid thanks to her. While Mei was motivated by her actions to prove Cipher was superior to all. Both have their reasons and motivations to battle and neither is going to back down.

Like most colosseum battles the spectacles were being broadcasted over the region and in every Cipher facility. Haruka decided she needed to step away from her research for a bit and headed for the break room for a quick meal. It was common for agents to be sitting around watching the news or whatever else was entertaining on T.V. at the time so it was no big surprise to see the tournament coverage on screen. Still Haruka is surprised when she spots Mei on screen standing opposite some trainer in the final match of the Realgam Tower colosseum tournament.

"Wow, I didn't know Mei was competing in this. Who's her opponent?" She walks over to the very large fridge full of freshly prepared food and ingredients and pulls out small, packaged meal.

"Just some kid named Wes. None of us know him from nobody." One of the agents speaks up not taking his eyes off the screen. This was no surprise since unbeknownst to Cipher, Wes and the others made sure to do a thorough job or removing themselves from any official records in Orre.

"He any good?" Haruka doubts he's on Mei's level, but she figured it should be an interesting battle. For all she knows there could be some really interesting surprises in store.

The grunt nods, "He's good, a little sloppy in the first round, but really came through in the second match. Still the gap between him and Mei is very noticeable. She's got him dead to rights." The outcome is already decided, but will the underdog comeback with a surprise victory?

Haruka doesn't think so, "Still I know Mei's been itching to try that Makuhita out. I'd love to see it in action." Haruka is more than happy to see the fruits of Cipher's labor especially with an enhanced Shadow Pokémon like Makuhita.

It wasn't uncommon for agents to wager bets on these kinds of matches, but with the odds so heavily stacked in Mei's favor there was no point. Still it should be an entertaining match.

Haruka picks up her PD*A and calls up Ryoko. "Haruka?" Ryoko looks a little confused to be hearing from her.

"Hey Ryoko have you left yet?" She knows he's got his big mission, but she figured he'd want to see Mei's match.

"Mika and I are about to head out. What's going on?" The sound of Mika rushing him along can be heard from the background.

"Oh sorry, I just thought I'd let you know Mei's competing on Realgam's Tournament so her match is being broadcasted on T.V." Haruka feels a little awkward telling Ryoko something so trivial. The two of them enjoy watching tournaments, but since he's going to be gone for so long odds are that they won't be able to do that for a while.

"Good for her, but I don't really have time to talk. Sorry Haruka." Mika's heckling gets increasingly louder and more obnoxious. "I got to go Haruka."

"Okay," this is all she manages to get out before he hangs up, "I love you." She says weakly before setting down her PD*A. She wipes her misty eyes and turns back to the screen to watch the final match as it gets under way.

Mei and Wes stand opposite each other with both very intense and angry glances. The tension was palpable. They are given the order to call out their first Pokémon. Mei knew who she would be leading off with. The same front runners she's used the whole tournament thus far. Magcargo and Makuhita. This really brings Wes's blood to a boil as he watches his old friend now fighting against him with his heart forced shut by Cipher.

Wes himself retaliates by starting with his best. Espeon and Umbreon. He knows if he wants to even stand a chance against Mei he'll have to give it his all from the very beginning or else he's doomed from the start.

"Not too late to forfeit you know." Mei immediately starts off the smack talk.

Wes smirks, "Same goes to you. Wouldn't want to embarrass you too much in front of your fellow cronies." Wes looks around the stadium at all the Cipher grunts cheering her on.

Mei knew she was a crowd favorite thanks to the overwhelming support of the agents around her, but it's not like it mattered in the end. "You don't seriously think you can win this do you? My team is way stronger than yours." Mei's over confidence is not misplaced her team and battling are all much better than Wes's whether he's willing to admit it or not.

"Who knows? I might just surprise you." Wes smirks confidently. He has a strategy, now he just hopes Mei takes the bait. "Well lady's first I guess."

"Go right ahead then," Mei responds with a snarky grin before making the first move. "Magcargo Shell Smash. Makuhita Bulk up." Her opening strategy doesn't change. Some may argue that it's predictable, but even so it's still a very effective opening strategy.

"Espeon Light Screen. Umbreon Pursuit." Wes's strategy is pretty routine for him by this point, therein lies the beauty of his attack. Leaving Mei thinking he's predictable so when she knows what to expect out of him that's when he can change up on the fly and surprise her. The crux of his strategy relied on keeping his Pokémon in the game long enough and taking out Mei's power players. He's not sure if she's packing her Slowking or Slaking, but Wes couldn't risk anything so he prepared for every possible outcome. He's careful not to over think his strategies either though. If you're too busy thinking several moves ahead you're likely to miss the move right in front of you.

"Magcargo aim for Espeon with a Flamethrower and Makuhita hit Umbreon with Vital Throw." Mei's team springs into action. Magcargo spews out scorching flames right towards Espeon who, thanks to Wes anticipating this, manages to jump out of the way just in time. Umbreon charge forward with Pursuit getting a clean hit in on Makuhita before ducking out of the way of the Vital Throw. Mei gives Wes a cocky grin, "You're better than I thought. Not much, but I'll give you some credit."

Wes smirks back, "I appreciate it," he doesn't let her faze him anymore. He now readies himself for the next phase of the attack. "Umbreon Quick Attack on Magcargo. Espeon use Confusion on Makuhita." Umbreon is still hard at work deflecting Makuhita's attacks, but slips away as he Quick Attacks towards Magcargo. With Makuhita's back expose Espeon has a clear shot of him and hits directly. All the while Umbreon charges towards Magcargo, but stops shy of hitting Mei's Pokémon. "Secret Power." He goes for a special attacking move so Umbreon doesn't have to make contact with Magcargo and activating the Flame Body ability.

Magcargo takes the hit with little trouble and redoubles his efforts on Umbreon. "You definitely put a lot of thought into this. Magcargo use Lava Plume."

"Espeon Reflect." Wes knew that getting in close would cause him some serious damage, so he went in hoping Espeon will be able to cover Umbreon first.

The attack is brutal, but Umbreon's defenses as well as Espeon's Reflect he was able to take the hit nicely. "Alright keep up the Secret Power and Espeon go for another Confusion." He continues laying into Mei's Pokémon from a safe distance, but it doesn't seem to worry her too much. Mei does a pretty good job of closing the gap between Magcargo and Umbreon while still slowly pushing him back. All the while Mei seems to be disregarding Makuhita like he's a lost cause. The sooner he's down the faster her next Pokémon comes out.

Still she makes a concentrated effort to get as many hits in on Espeon as possible before going down. "Makuhita Shadow Rush." Mei's fully aware any of his normal attacks would do very little to a Psychic Type so she ups the ante a bit. The force of the Shadow Rush is enough to enrage Makuhita into Hyper Mode making it even more effective, if not completely unpredictable in nature.

Hyper Mode existed as a result of too much negative energy in a Shadow Pokémon's heart causing it to become nigh uncontrollable. Haruka specifically noted this as a genetic 'bug' in the Shadowification process. Cipher has tried eliminating this issue, but too little avail. As a result many agents, like Mei, have learned to gauge a Shadow Pokémon's particular levels of rage while in Hyper Mode to know when to attack and also when to call it out of this state.

Shadow Rush is very effective at dwindling Espeon's health, but the recoil damage was wearing away at Makuhita himself. So it was a double edged sword which eventually causes Makuhita to faint. Mei doesn't seem overly worried though, "Alright come on out Muk." Turns out Mei was packing a bit of a wall of her own.

From the lobby Cary watched as he passively played the slots to pass the time. He's suddenly interrupted by a call on his PD*A. Without even looking away from the broadcast he answers, "Talk to me." He knows only one person would be calling him at a time like this. More over only three people ever called him period.

"We're watching Wes's battle with the Mei girl. Takumi seems a bit worried though." Ebony speaks casually and without any real concern. "He's saying Wes needs to withdraw now and get out of there."

Cary shrugs, "He's doing fine. He's probably not going to win, but he's getting some good experience in either way. Plus, I'm making bank at the slots here." The two share a very similar lack of concern, as if they were confident everything would be fine.

"Fair enough, it's not like you can very well go in there are stop the match yourself. Do be careful though." Ebony knows Takumi is a very wise man, but she can't help feel he worries about them all a bit too much.

"Will do, later." He hangs up and continues cranking the slot machine and watching Wes's match.

Muk enters the stage in a big way. Immediately starting off with a Sludge Bomb finishing off Umbreon almost instantly. Wes is forced on the defensive and calls out his Rhyhorn. He will at least help resist the Poison and Fire.

"Alright Rhyhorn Rock Blast that Magcargo while Espeon uses Confusion on Muk." Wes continues his offense and increases his offensive pressure on Mei's team.

"Acid Armor Muk." Muk begins excreting a sickening and toxic ooze that covers his whole body in a thick layer of armor. This doesn't do anything to protect himself from Confusion though. "Sludge Bomb." Another powerful burst of toxic sludge comes flying this time Muk's sights are set towards Espeon. Espeon tries to jump out of the way, but the splash area of the attack is too wide and lays waste to what little health Espeon had left.

At the same time Rhyhorn is laying into Magcargo. Still it didn't do much to faze Mei's Pokémon. He had to admit even with the resistances on his side there was still little he could do when it came to the enormous gap in power his Pokémon had compared to Mei's. Still he held on strong.

"Rhyhorn use Bulldoze." Since Wes no longer had to worry about his other Pokémon taking the hit he's free to use it for some good crowd control. Even though the damage to Muk is minimum thanks to the Acid Armor. Still Rhyhorn holds on strong and follows up with another Bulldoze.

Mei shakes her head, "Let's end this waste of time. Muk use Sludge Bomb. Magcargo Rock Slide." The two attack simultaneously with two brutal attacks, it didn't matter that Rhyhorn resisted most of the damage. The overwhelming force of their combined attacks were able to finally take down Wes's final Pokémon. The battle has concluded and Mei was the winner. It wasn't hard to imagine. She out shined Wes is pretty much every way.

Haruka stands up and walks out of the breakroom pretty much once Espeon went down. She knew Mei was too good to be taken down by a single Pokémon. Especially one considerably weaker than her own.

Cary too realized the match was basically over when Espeon went down, but he held out hope Wes might at least take down Magcargo, but still it was a good show all the same. Wes certainly came closer to beating Mei than any of her other opponents did.

Back on stage the announcer excitingly announced Mei as the winner. "There you have it folks our winner is Mei! Everyone give her a round of applause." The whole crowd cheers wildly for her while Wes walks back to the elevator and descends down silently. He exits the colosseum and heads for the main portion of the tower.

The receptionist smiles at him warmly, "You did well, here's your prize money." She rewards him with a large sum of prize money for second place. He looks to the screen where Mei is getting awarded her Shadow Lapras.

Wes sighs walks over with his hands in his pockets. "_Well we did our best either way._" He meanders around the lobby looking for Cary. He sees a crowd of heads, but no Cary. He passively stands around expecting him to find him soon enough anyway.

"Where do you think you're going?" Mei shouts from behind him.

Wes quickly whirls around and notices Mei standing directly behind him glaring up into his eyes. "You just won't leave me alone will you?" He groans and glares back down at her.

"I'm still considering turning you in right here and now." Mei was not playing around either. Agents stood all around them, not necessarily paying attention to either of them.

"You're blowing smoke, if you wanted to capture me you would have by now." It made sense though. There was nothing stopping Mei from taking him in right here and now. Yet she didn't. He leans forward and gets inches from her face. "If you take me in now. Then you wouldn't have a rival." Wes finally figured it out. She liked fighting him. She needed someone to constantly be fighting. In her own weird way Mei needed Wes. He existed as a foil to her.

She of course denies all of this. "You're out of your mind rebel." She stands on her tippy toes getting ever closer to his face. "I just know if I tried get you here you'd escape in the panic."

"Sure, keep telling yourself that." Wes smirks, not breaking his gaze for a second. As if the two were locked in a vicious war of attrition.

That is until Cary shows up. "There you are man, I saw your match. Pretty intense." From Cary's perspective he couldn't see Mei. What's more Wes wasn't thinking about Cary coming up behind him.

Cary gives Was a proud and firm pat on the back causing him to lose his balance. Before Wes can recover his head leans forward causing both his lips and Mei's too meet. Wes quickly steadies his stance with his foot, but the damage has been done. He quickly jumps back from the accidently kiss with a look of pure horror in his eyes.

Mei takes a second to process what just happened and gave Wes the most hate filled expression he'd ever seen in his life. "You bastard!" She shouts at the top of her lungs and punches him in the stomach. "I'll kill you both for this!"

Wes doubles over in pain, but is quickly propped up by Cary. "Well that's out cue to leave." The two gun it for the elevator running through the crowds of people.

"Get back here so I can murder you Wes!" She shouts as she shuffles through the crowd. Mei is officially out for blood now.

"Why me?" Wes groans in pain. "It's his dumbass fault." Wes wasn't one for name calling, but it was Cary who caused this accidently kiss. Wes gets chills even thinking about it. Kissing Mei was the last thing he'd ever want to do to her.

Cary and Wes both manage to reach the elevator, but Mei is hot on their trail. The run into the elevator while Wes pounds the Close Door button for dear life. "Come on close faster." Mei runs up as the door slowly begins to close. She's inches away from reaching through, but the doors close narrowly avoiding an untimely end.

Mei kicks the door of the elevator and curses profusely. "I swear to god the next time I see that bastard I will have his head on a damn pike." She furiously rubs her lips wiping off whatever DNA he may have tarnished her lips with.

As the elevator descend Wes and Cary both catch their breath. "Well that was an exciting day." Cary says with quite a bit of misplaced optimism.

"You nearly got us killed." Wes scowls as the elevator opens. The two hastily run out and hop on Wes's bike before taking off into the sunset.

"Well it wasn't all bad. You got great battling experience, I did gang busters at the slots, and you to first base. Win-win." Somehow Wes gets the feeling Cary's missing the point.

"You're an idiot. I didn't want to do that at all." Wes still feels disgusted with himself for letting that happen. He tries to expel the memory from his mind as they travel off.

Cary still caring very little for Wes's plight attempts to show him the bright side. "At least she was cute." Still on her looks. Wes really thinks Cary is in capable of thinking of anything else. He nudges Wes's shoulder. "Come on, admit it." He goads Wes into replying.

"I'm not into blonde!" Wes grits his teeth and desperately wishes he could dump Cary in the middle of the desert.

"Come, you can say it." Cary is growing increasingly annoying to Wes. Trying to get the response he wants to hear. No matter how far from the truth it was.

The goading continues for a few more miles before Wes finally snaps, "No! No, Cary. No. I don't think she's cute, attractive, hot, or any combination of those. I think she's infuriating, evil, and an all-around terrible person. She is a prime example of everything wrong with Cipher. A blight on society. A she devil wrapped up in a fun sized package and if I never see her again it'll be too soon." He finally let's out one last exasperated groan.

"But dude seriously she's stacked how can you not like that?" Cary smiles innocently and emphasizes his point by hovering his hands over his chest.

Wes sighs, Slows the bike down to a brisk pace, and pushes Cary out of the side car before taking off at top speeds through the desert. Leaving Cary to literally eat his dust. "Oh come on dude the base is still two miles that way! It's getting cold!" he shouts in desperation before waving him off dismissively. "Man can't appreciate a fine woman." He pulls out his PD*A and calls up Ebony. "Yo Ebs can you come pick me up? I'm stuck in the desert about two miles south."

Ebony cocks her head, "My, what happened? I thought you were with Wes? Did something happened to cause you two to get separated?" Ebony is genuine concerned some happened to either Cary or Wes.

"He pushed me off the bike because I kept going on about the Cipher chick he battled. Turns out _someone_ can't take a joke." Even though it was pretty clearly not a joke. Although Cary did have a way of taking his jokes a bit too far at times.

"Well Cary dear, this is what you get for barking at the tree." Ebony shows no pity for her depraved friend.

"What? I ain't tied to no porch." He protests Ebony's claims.

"Sadly not," she shakes her head and delivers the bed news. "I'm sorry dear. I'm afraid you're going to have to stew in your own Muk for this one. Try not to freeze to death." With that Ebony hangs up the phone right as Wes pulls up.

Cary stares at his PD*A in disbelief. "Ah now that's cold Ebs. Leaving a handsome guy like me to freeze out here in the desert." He walks towards the base complaining the way through. Never once dawning on him to use his Braviary to fly back. One of Orre's last hopes for liberation.

Mei teleports herself back to Chase's where he was hard at work on another vehicle. "Hey yer back. Why?" He wasn't complaining so much as he was confused.

"Is the car ready?" She noticed it still sat in his garage. Chase didn't have time to deliver it back to Cipher. Nor was he feeling particularly motivated to be their delivery boy.

"Yeah, I heard the play by play on the radio. You creamed that Wes dude." Chase smirks and gives her a thumbs up with his dirtied hand.

"I don't want to talk about it." Mei is still seething in anger over what happened afterwards.

"Really, but you won?" Chase is now even more confused. "I heard that Lapras was really high quality too."

Mei walks up to his fridge and takes a beer. "I said I don't want to talk about it!" She'd need a lot more to forget what happened today. As ill-advised as it may be. Especially if she plans on driving the jeep back to the base.

Either way Chase raises his hands defensively. "Geez don't bite my head off. Here are the keys." He tosses her the keys to the jeep and opens the door. "Drive safe and whatever." He waves his hand dismissively as she opens up the garage door and drives out quite recklessly. "Geez what crawled up her ass?" He shakes his head and gets back to work.

Mei speeds off into the night thinking the whole time about the incident before hitting the breaks and shouting angrily at the top of her lungs. She'd never felt more embarrassed or humiliated in her life. If Mei didn't hate Wes with every fiber of her being before she did now. She's ready to head back to the base and put this whole awful experience behind her.

Though on the plus side she did at least get a very nice Shadow Lapras out of the deal so it wasn't all bad. Still her seething anger for Wes permanently burned an image of him in her mind. She swears the next time she sees him it will be the last. She doesn't care what it takes.

Neither Wes nor Mei could get any sleep that night. Both are too frustrated and angry to sleep easy for even a second. Neither could have ever thought they'd be capable of hating one individual so much.

Wes was now all the more motivated to put an end to Cipher once and for all. Unfortunately, Mei too was extremely motivated to put down the rebels that stood in Cipher's way.

Each's goals started with one person in particular. Leading to what can only be a dark and dangerous path for the both of them.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review on this latest chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well this went a long way to cement the feelings of these two. It'll be a long and dark road these two will travel, fighting the whole way through. Also, not going to lie, I love writing Cary's dialogue. The way he acts I think is hilarious and I hope you all do too.


	7. Chapter 7: Darkness over Celadon

Chapter 7: Darkness over Celadon

Final preparation have been completed. Ryoko and Mika are ready to depart. That is if Ryoko could get off the phone. "Hurry up already. We don't have time. We have to go now." Mika's patience was wearing thin.

"I got to go Haruka." Before he can say anything else Mika takes his PD*A and hangs up. "I was about to hang up. Who put an Ekans in your panties?" He crosses his arms and takes back his PD*A.

Mika raises a brow. "You want to say that again?"

"Not really." Ryoko quickly retracts his statement. "Anyway what's the rush? The city's not going anywhere." Ryoko didn't see the urgency.

"Everything is mission critical. I'm not going to blow an op because you were busy talking to your girlfriend." She calls out an Abra to teleport them to Celadon City.

Ryoko wanted to argue his point, but he knew it was pointless. Mika had far more experience than he did. This was undeniable despite how good a trainer Ryoko was.

The two teleport into Celadon City right in front of the Pokémon Center. Ryoko shivers ever so slightly at the sudden drop in temperature. "It feels like the weather just dropped thirty degrees." He's thankful he'd decided on wearing a light jacket. His whole attire screams Pokémon Trainer though. Light blue jeans with a thin black under shirt and red jacket with white accents and Pokeball symbol over his heart. He'd might as well be wearing a sign saying, 'Hey look at me; I'm a Pokémon Trainer.'

Mika herself dressed more like a researcher than anything with a modest black dress and a white lab coat. "Okay I'm going to begin investigating around town. You should do the same, scope out the security at the Game Corner. Also, be sure to act natural. Challenge the gym leader or something so people think you're a real trainer. With that I.D. you should have no trouble posing as a normal trainer just looking to get a gym badge." Her strategy is very calculated she thought on Haruka's level and higher.

"I got it," he walks off dismissing this after hearing it from her countless times before already. He meanders around the city a bit trying his best to look the part, but even Ryoko has to admit with his skin tone he stands out like a sore thumb. Though he doubts it'll cause any real scene. Unlike Orre, Kanto actually has law and order. Still Ryoko keeps to himself as he heads for the Game Corner.

He walks in and sees kids and adults of all ages playing the slots, roulette tables, and Voltorb Flip. Ryoko remembered to get a Coin Case before leaving as well as a few tokens. He takes one of the slots to the back and cranks the handle a couple times occasionally looking to the back where a security guard stood pretty much at all times. Whenever one was dismissed another was there to take his place. It's as Ryoko figured. If they'd ever want to access the old hideout they'd have to infiltrate at night or pose as maintenance staff. Which Mika's taught him that it's hard to argue the power of a maintenance uniform. Most people will just let you walk right on by if you look like just another janitor.

Ryoko can't deny Mika's already taught him a lot about being a spy, which makes Ryoko all the more glad he isn't one by trade. Still at least he knows she's more than qualified.

After winning a few coins he decides he's done with playing the slots and walks over to a roulette table to scope out the security of the building. Cameras in all the corners and an extra couple by the door to Rocket's old hideout. The Game Corner is probably using it to store coins and prizes most likely. So keeping it secure was still a priority.

Ryoko's seen all he needs to see. He does manage to win a few rounds of roulette too, so he takes his coins and walks. He doesn't alert any suspicion thankfully, but he does catch someone's attention.

"You're a pretty lucky guy." A woman's voice comes from behind Ryoko.

He practically jumps out of his skin, but does his best to hide his surprise. "Thanks, just a lucky day I guess." He turns to her and smiles casually, trying to act natural. Though he's not use to acting all causal and carefree normally either so it's especially difficult for him.

"My name's Mary, what's yours?" Now that Ryoko gets a better look at her and her distinctive purple hair. She wears a red jacket with a white stripe down the middle with black short shorts.

"Name's Ryoko." Ryoko politely shakes her hand and smiles cordially. "You come here often?" He decides to strike up casual conversation so he doesn't come off as suspicious.

Mary nods and smiles at all the different games. "I'm in here all the time. I haven't seen you around before though. A traveling trainer or did you just move in?" It's moments like these Ryoko's glad he prepped himself beforehand. Mika had him memorize his cover I.D. forwards and backwards.

"I'm just a trainer looking to take on the league. I'm from Lilycove City." Ryoko's glad everything is going over so far so good.

"Wow, I've always wanted to go to Hoenn. I've heard the contest hall in Lilycove is a sight to be seen." Mary definitely seems to be getting more interested in Ryoko which kind of worries him.

"Yeah, but I've never been much for Pokémon Contests. It's definitely a lot warmer in Hoenn than it is here though." Ryoko knows that much is true and Orre is disgustingly hotter than that.

"Sounds nice, if it weren't for my job I'd be visiting there more often." Her job and constantly spending her money at the Game Corner that is.

"What do you do?" Ryoko has no idea why he hasn't just dropped this conversation yet, but then again he never really gets to just talk to people outside of the agents in Cipher and that almost always winds up ending in business talk or going over plans. Even with Haruka sometimes they can't avoid talking about business around their respective bases. So this was actually a nice change of pace.

"I'm a gym trainer. Erika, the gym leader, has recently renovated her gym and hired a bunch of us girls to challenge trainers before battling Erika." This was something other regions have implement, but Kanto and Johto were a bit more old fashion that way. Still they've started updating in a big way.

"Sounds exciting. So if I wanted a gym badge looks like I'd have to go through you first." He smirks getting a laugh out of Mary.

"Looks like it, but you look pretty seasoned to me. Would you go easy on me?" She teases with a faux, innocent grin.

Ryoko chuckles, "Well I have to win my badge somehow. I can't play favorites." Ryoko joins in on the joke. He's definitely feeling a lot more comfortable so this was more or less good practice for him.

Mary looks at her watch, "Shoot, I have to get back to the gym now." She pauses before saying good bye. "Actually, you are trying to get your gym badge so why don't you walk with me back to the gym and set you up a battle with Erika?"

Ryoko nods, "That'd be great." He walks outside with her and braces himself once more for the chilling breeze.

Mary notices this and giggles, "You think this is bad? Try this in the winter where it's below freezing." Mary has naturally become accustom to it living in Celadon all her life. She points out a few of the local sites to Ryoko along the way. "Oh there's our famous department store." She draws special attention to that.

"Reminds me of Lilycove's." Lilycove's department store was generally held on the same level of popularity as Celadon's. While in true Ryoko knows very little about the actual store itself.

"So are you travelling by yourself Ryoko?" Her question does take Ryoko by surprise, but he handles it well.

"Yeah, just me and my Pokémon." He points to his belt of six Pokeballs.

"That's nice, do you have a girlfriend?" As her questioning grows more personal the lies get harder to keep up.

He panics and replies hastily. "No, I'm never really in one place too long to really meet anyone. Plus, the whole long distance thing." He says this, but in his mind he is apologizing profusely to Haruka. The problem was then he'd have to explain who she was, why she didn't travel with him, and it would just become one big, twisted pile of lies he'd have to keep straight. Mika taught him to keep it simple.

Mary nods, "I get it. I know it bothers some people. I dated a trainer once. It lasted a few months, but he started feeling the same way you do." Ryoko is beginning to worry if she was dropping subtle hints.

He does his best to avoid the topic though, "So what made you decide to be a gym trainer?" It's a job he's never really heard of since there wasn't a league in Orre.

"Well I've always loved battling, but I never really cared for all the work that came with being a gym leader so when the position opened I applied. Erika and I go way back too. So I got in pretty easily." Ryoko thankfully manages to distract her from her original point.

"That's cool, do you get a lot of strong trainers?" The small talk continues all the way to the gym.

Mary shrugs, "Sometimes, but most are kids. Before I came along Erika would get challenged all the time. Now we act as a filter in a way. If you can't beat us then you've got no chance against Erika." She smiles proudly and gives Ryoko a thumbs up. "Though I would never want to fight Erika's brother or their friend." The idea of it makes Mary uncomfortable.

"Who are they?" Ryoko is obviously not in the know.

"Well, Erika's actually an only child, but she treats him like a brother. His name's Tom. You've probably heard of him. He's the Indigo League champion and three time World Champion. Their friend's a girl named Tia. From what I hear she's making big waves in Johto." She kind of envied Tia for being so good after such a short period of time.

Ryoko cringes he had no idea Tom and Tia had connections to Erika or at least such a personal one. He puts on a brave face though, "Oh yeah, I've heard of him. Isn't he dating the Saffron City gym leader too?" He felt like Mei the way he was shamelessly gossiping.

Mary nods, "Yeah, he's pretty close with a lot of the gym leaders. Like the new Goldenrod City gym leader. She got hired on his personal recommendation." She then looks around and leans in whispering into Ryoko's ear. "Also, don't tell anyone I said this, but Erika told me she has Regigigas."

Ryoko finds this especially troubling. So many powerful trainers Erika knows personally can be quite problematic. Still this is good intel. "Wow I didn't know anyone actually caught a legendary Pokémon?" Which is a total lie.

Mary nods and continues divulging secrets. "Tom has Rayquaza too. Makes sense for like the strongest trainer in the world. Erika also has Celebi. I've seen him up close in person." She says proudly, but unknowingly feeding knowledge to the enemy.

"Wow that's exciting," as well as terrifying for Ryoko. "Well we should get inside." The door slides open and Ryoko politely side steps out of the way. "Ladies first."

Mary giggles, "Such a gentleman." Unbeknownst to her this was second nature to Ryoko. Growing up alongside Mei and Haruka. So the two ladies made sure to pound some manners into him. Though Ryoko has always had a good rapport with women somehow. The other Cipher agents around his age fawned over him. Haruka says he's really good looking, but Ryoko's never really put much thought into his own looks. Plus, his own girlfriend would be a bit bias on the subject.

He steps inside and is greeted by a very unfamiliar sight to the desert dwelling trainer. A whole greenhouse full of flora and fresh fragrances. The scent of perfume was a little overwhelming to Ryoko, but he toughs it out. This gym was like an oasis and then some. Never in his life had he seen so much plant life in one place. In the main lobby is a small counter with a woman selling various perfumes. The very same perfumes that were nearly suffocating him. Unsurprisingly, neither Haruka nor Mei wore perfume much. Being agents of Cipher it didn't give you many chances to be fashionable. Miror B. was a prime example of this. Though Lady Venus indulged in vanity and things like perfume. She wore very heavily though so it would also suffocating to him.

Mary notices his plight and giggles sweetly, "Not a perfume fan? That's fine, it doesn't linger in the gym too much. Just hope you don't have pollen allergies."

"If I do that'll be news to me." Another very uncommon sight in desert.

"You must avoid the upper levels of Lilycove's department store." That reminder jogs Ryoko's memory before he accidently blows his cover.

He chuckles nervously, "Yeah I guess I'm just like most guys." He scoffs, "Flowers and perfume. Give me something heavy to pick up and throw."

Mary bursts out laughing, "Calm down muscles." She makes note of Ryoko's pretty well toned physique. Cipher did require their agents being in top physical condition. So Ryoko is fairly muscular.

He just smirks casually, "Well let's get into the gym." He follows her through a giant lattice archway with all kinds of flowers and ivy growing on it. The interior of the gym is much the same. Lattice arches and pathways created a maze with potted plants blocking off various entries and pathways. Flowers of many different shades of pink, blue, and yellow surround the gym with its pastel blue wall with clouds painted on. "This place is very gender specific." He notes the all-female staff gathered around the front drinking tea. Including one woman in a decorative, floral yukata.

"I'm sorry do you want more blank steel walls and rebar?" She giggles and playfully punches his arm.

"It's cute." He says condescendingly

"Okay Mr. Man," she nudges his shoulder and runs over to the girls.

The woman in the yukata notices her and waves, "Welcome back Mary. You arrived just in time. We have a challenge coming soon."

Mary smiles as the woman pours her a drink, "Thanks Erika. I actually brought a challenger with me." She points back to Ryoko who stands idly while checking out the gym.

Erika smiles and walks over to Ryoko, "Welcome," she bows her head respectfully. "We appreciate your challenge, but there is one appointment ahead of you."

"Gyms take appointments?" Ryoko didn't know the system well, but that still seemed strange to him.

Erika nods, "Well younger trainers come in here all the time and since we've started having multiple gym trainers it gets a little overbooked. We'll find time for you though don't worry."

Ryoko shrugs, "I get it. This is my first gym battle so I don't know all the rules."

Erika nods, "Understandable, we have beginner teams."

Ryoko puts up his arms in protest. "Now I didn't say I was a beginner. I want to battle you all at your best." He didn't accept anything less.

Mary chimes in, "Ryoko's from Hoenn and a seasoned trainer from what I've heard."

Erika smiles, "Wonderful we don't get a lot of challenging trainers around here so this shall be fun."

Erika walks towards the back of the gym while the other trainers get into place. Mary waves for Ryoko to follow her. "I'm one of the last battles so will you keep me company until then?" She teases and winks at Ryoko.

He's not sure how to reply. "If that's allowed sure." He follows her as she gets into her spot. While Ryoko leans against one of the trees. He doesn't have a whole lot to do for the moment so it makes him wonder what Haruka is up to right now.

Back in Orre Haruka is doing what she does best. She looks over a pair of black sunglasses she had connected to a cord plugged into a computer. She sets them down and starts typing away at a keyboard. Around her is three different displays. One with a series of coding on it, another with a full spreadsheet of data and 3D models. The third remained inactive until a sudden ringing interrupts her.

Haruka groans and answers. "What Aiden?"

"Haruka, what the hell are you up to? My systems getting flags every few minutes saying someone is altering the database." He's more than a little annoyed with her tinkering.

"I'm not altering anything I'm just testing my new visors and I needed to pull Pokémon search results from the database." She pays him little mind while she types away.

"Does Ein know about this little pet project of yours?"

"No and if you would let me flash an instance of the database then we wouldn't be having this problem." She continues coding away and pulling data which triggers another warning on Aiden's end.

"There it is again. It's because you're using an unauthorized device that's why." He points from the screen to her sunglasses.

"Fine upgrade the permissions too. I would, but I know you'd get annoyed if I did." Aiden was in charge of more than just the sim. He controlled a good portion of Cipher's databases. From Pokémon to agents. Even their clearance levels were authorized by Aiden. Though even his system wasn't flawless. Haruka's true hacking prowess came to light one day when she decided to mess with her own authorizations. Giving herself Admin level clearance and helping herself to Ein's private lounge for almost a month before getting caught.

"Fine, give me the serial number of that thing." Aiden begins typing in a series of code himself while Haruka reads him back the unique identifier. He sighs when he sees the devices displayed name. "Aiden_is_a_loser real mature Haruka. What are you ten?"

She giggles to herself as she programs away. "That better?"

The name changes once more making Aiden's eyes widen and blush. "Haruka that's worse!" She quickly changes it a more official and technical sounding name. "Thank you. Also good for Ryoko." He just shakes his head hoping he can omit that piece of information from his head. "That'll be all then."

"Thank and please keep this between us."

"Why would I tell anyone that?" Aiden is still stuck on the rather disturbing name.

"I meant the project. _Idiot._" She whispers her insult to herself and ends the call. She continues programming and tests the glasses. She calls out one of her Magnezone to test it. She scans his data and gets pleasing results. "Okay stats, moves, and nature. Alright now we're getting somewhere." Suddenly the display glitches out and shuts down. "Damn, what's wrong now?" She checks the power source. "Fried," she sighs and pulls out the fried battery. She needed a more stable energy source.

She heads out into the hall and makes her way down a few secluded corridors and finds a small room mark, energy supplies. A very technical way of saying battery room sure, but it had various parts to fit mechanical devices and replacement parts.

She rummages through the various bins grabbing new pieces and a compact battery cell she is sure will help power her sun glasses. Haruka always loved little projects like these, it was fun to her. She would always find new and inventive ways to revamp old tech. It was a hobby and it kept her from getting bored between actual work. Plus it kept her mind off of other unfinished work. Like refining the shadowification process. A problem Ein has officially deemed, a problem for another day.

It hasn't stopped her from continuously doing research on the matter, but for the time being she wanted to focus on this project. This would be a huge technological leap if Cipher could make sleeker more streamlined versions of their current technology. She was one of the pioneers next to Aiden and Ein in the latest redesign of the Snag Machine. Another project she eventually wants streamline.

Haruka zones out thinking about this project and many others, and aimlessly starts grabbing parts. She snaps back to reality and decides to set them down. Her room was already clutter enough with parts and machinery, no need to add to pile. Ein even designated a small office space for her to work in since Haruka was constantly making things or hacking for Cipher. Like a lot of Cipher's other hackers she was susceptible to a bit of teasing for being a nerd. It didn't bother Haruka. She was a nerd and proud of it. Plus, it's not like she couldn't put them in their place with her battling skills and Ryoko always had her back as well. Even if he barely understood half of the things she did.

She makes her way back down the hall when she hears some bizarre whispering in one of the empty rooms. She presses her ear against the door and hears the voices more distinctly.

"Yes sir, we're well under way to get the full floor plans." The first voice speaks in a hushed tone.

"Our infiltration was successful. No one suspects a thing." The voice speaks softly as well. It's at this point Haruka peaks in and notices the two agents hunched over a small communicator.

"Very good, all is going according to plan then. You two cannot screw this up." The gruff voice speaks to them both with cunning authority.

Haruka's heard enough, "Oh look, we have Rattata sneaking around in here." She throws open the door and stares down the two spies.

"Crap we've been compromised!" The first agent freaks while the second remains level headed.

"We can take her. There's one of her and two of us." He calls out of his Pokémon while his partner in deceit does the same.

"What's going on over there?" The man speaks urgently. "Answer me!"

All he hears on the other end of the communicator is a series of shouts for attacks followed by a lot of banging and scream. Then silence. In only mere two minutes this all occurs before a voice finally speaks up into the communicator.

"So you want to tell me who the hell you are?" Haruka speaks in a tone sharp as a knife's edge.

The man on the other end laughs briefly, "I've heard you're good Haruka."

"How do you know who I am?" She thinks for a second and remembers his voice. "Wait is that you, Gonzap?"

"The very same. So you're choosing to interfere with my plans?" Gonzap doesn't seem irritated, but somehow intrigued.

"So what does Team Snagem, Cipher's little sister, want with our valuable intel?" She props her foot up on one of the double agents while she sits on a crate.

"What anyone wants: power. You can understand that Haruka. An intelligent and beautiful young woman such as yourself knows this." Gonzap seems to be buttering her up, but Haruka isn't biting.

"Creepy flattery aside, why are you telling me any of this?" She couldn't possibly understand why Gonzap would fully admit to under minding Cipher and trying to potentially take over. "Why shouldn't I just report you to Ein right here and now?"

"Simple really. You and I want the same thing. Power, not just strength or to be a part of a bigger collective. You want control and authority. The ability to lead your own organization and be the leader you're destined to be." He speaks righteously of his goals and ambitions.

"You're an idiot. You don't have nearly the man power or pull to organize an entire hostile takeover of Cipher. Plus, I highly doubt the rebels are supporting your grand, master plan. By the by, if these crack pots are the best Snagem's got then I'll stick with the winning team."

Gonzap laughs, "Like I said; you're a smart woman. You know the situation well. So that is why I'm glad we can talk. Join me."

Haruka laughs, "Yeah and betray my family?" Cipher was more than an organization. It was her life and her family.

"Betrayal? Oh no dear. Quite the opposite. I'm simply taking the initiative to weed out some of the less fit leaders. Your admins have lost sight of Cipher's true goals and ambitions. Help me and we can rule Orre the way it's supposed to be rules. In totality." Gonzap's ambitions and sweet words are starting to get to Haruka.

"Go on," she speaks with an intrigued grin.

"At a later time. For now, let's just walk away and forget this fight." He has more to say, but Haruka stops him.

"I'm going to stop you right there. Dumb and Dumber are getting shipped off to reeducation. You're little communicator stays with me. Next time we _talk _I'll decide if your deal is worth my time." Now Haruka sounds like the one in control.

Gonzap laughs whole heartedly. "Spoken like a true, evil genius. I appreciate your moxie. We'll be in touch." The line goes dead and Haruka quickly pockets the communicator in her lab coat.

She takes the two spies by the scruff of their necks and drags them into the hall. Two high ranked agents recognize her. "What's going on? What happened to these men?"

Haruka drops them and explains the situation. "I overheard these two talking. Something about getting floor plans of the base and giving them to some mysterious person on the other end of their communicator. When I discovered them they quickly destroyed the device and attacked me. Thankfully they were pretty weak so they were no trouble for me." Her statement is full of lies and half-truths, but the other agents are none the wiser.

"We'll take care of these two. You should fill out a report to Ein." They both grab a guy and haul them off as Haruka smiles politely before turning around and flashing a wicked grin.

Gonzap sits in a small, windowless office and smirks to himself. "The pieces are in place. What will my queen do next?" Something bigger was in motion here and it all seemed to be going according to Gonzap's plan.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and i hope you enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well the hunt for Mewtwo is finally beginning and I really wanted to explore the more stark contrasts between Kanto and Orre. With Ryoko's parts feeling much more like the world in Tia's Tales. Blending the themes which are still subtly different. Plus throwing in the events with Haruka, because I realized she wasn't get a lot of screen time so to speak.


	8. Chapter 8: Lingering Darkness

Chapter 8: Lingering Darkness

Erika and her gym trainers are finally done with the kid. It was a struggle to even watch for Ryoko. So many misplays, mistakes, and poor Pokémon selection. It didn't help the kid was clearly not ready to be a trainer. He was probably half Ryoko's height for that matter.

Mary exhales awkwardly. "That could have gone better for that kid. I didn't even get to fight him even after his multiple visits to the Pokémon Center. What did you think of his battling?"

Ryoko scowls as he stares off into space. "I have no sympathy for the weak." He quickly realizes what he said and tries to recover.

Thankfully Mary takes it in stride and laughs, "Wow, okay Mr. Evil Overlord. Should we banish him to the dungeon next or something?"

Ryoko chuckles awkwardly and dismisses it. "I'll allow him to live. For now." He gives her a wry grin getting another laugh out of them both. "In all seriousness, he wasn't ready. Give him another year or two maybe." Ryoko's surprised he could dig out potential in that less than lackluster performance.

"They can't all be naturals like us can then?" Mary walks over and leans against the wall with him and casually nudges his shoulder.

"Yeah pretty much," he chuckles, "I wake up every morning, give myself a hard look in the mirror, and ask myself; why am I so awesome?" He looks down in fake awe at his hands.

Mary bursts out laughing, "So humble too." She wipes a tear from her eye. "You're funny Ryoko. You know that?"

Funny? One word that has never been used to describe Ryoko. "Thanks, I never really pegged myself as the funny guy though." This is true for sure. He was always so serious when he's around the base or on a mission. The only times he does unwind are with Mei, Chase, or Haruka. Even then he's always the stoic without fail.

"Well I'm sure you're itching for your chance to battle. Since you're using a stronger team we won't need to worry about healing our Pokémon. So we're ready when you are." Mary gives him the thumbs up and leads him back to the beginning of the maze.

"So how often do you have stronger trainers come through here?" Ryoko wasn't familiar with trainers from other regions other than the unfortunately strong trainers he's had to fight in the past.

Mary shrugs, "They're all usually pretty middle of the road. You see trainers usually get their first Pokémon from Professor Oak in Pallet Town so from there is usually a trip to Pewter City, Cerulean, Vermilion, and finally stopping off here in Celadon. Of course kids from Celadon are free to catch their own Pokémon and start out here once they get a trainer's license." Mary pauses and blushes, "What am I going on about? You know this already I'm sure. Hoenn's league is the same way."

"You know any Hoenn gym leaders or does Erika?" Ryoko doesn't mind talking with her, because it's basically free information on anything he really needed to know. He felt bad that he's abusing Mary's trust somehow. This is practically second nature to Ryoko. So why does he all of a sudden feel guilty about it? Cipher deals in the trading and procuring of intelligence all the time so it's nothing new to him.

Mary tilts her hand indifferently, "Kinda. Erika is friends with Falkner who is dating Winona." Ryoko cringes thinking about those two. He and Haruka wouldn't have lost Moltres and Zapdos if it weren't for those two interfering and catching them. He now especially regrets letting them go.

"Gym leaders sure network a lot." Ryoko is really not liking how many trainers with legendary Pokémon Erika knows. "Well let's get started then." Ryoko stands at the front of the maze as Mary runs back to her position.

"Good luck!" She waves excitedly before running off.

The stage is set and Ryoko can begin his first gym challenge, and hopefully his last he thinks to himself. He looks at the simplistic maze with a series of arches and potted plants blocking his way. He walks down one walkway and spots a potted plant blocking his path forward making him choose left or right. "Oh no a potted plant. What ever shall I do?" He asks in a very bland and monotone manner and rolls his eyes.

He hears from over the bushes, "Pss… you're supposed to go around and find paths not blocked by the plants." Mary giggles and let's Ryoko resume.

"Gee that was hard to figure out." He takes the path to the left and leads the way to the first trainer.

An eager young girl in green awaits Ryoko. "Hi, I'm Tanya, I'll be your first challenge." She speaks sweetly with a spring her step. So young and innocent. Ryoko isn't sure if it's cute or sad. Though, he has to remember not everywhere in the world is a misery like Orre.

"Alright, I'm ready." He pulls out a Pokeball and waits for her to call out her own. She calls out an Exeggutor. Which makes Ryoko smirks when he calls out his Xatu. The girl grimaces at the less than favorable match up. "I'll let you have the first move." Ryoko is all too confident is his abilities and battling skills. His strong affinity for Psychic Types will serve him well when he comes across more of the gym's Pokémon. So he's not too worried.

"Egg Bomb!" The girl calls out her first attack. Exeggutor springs into action and hurls a large egg right as Xatu. Ryoko watches the trajectory closely before making any counters. The attack wasn't very fast. Nor was it all too effective. Especially since Xatu was at a considerably higher level.

"Xatu fly forward." In that instant Xatu charges forward at Exeggutor. If Ryoko's calculations were correct this should be just perfect. Right on the money. Xatu flies under the bomb and narrowly avoid impact. For that matter the blast served as a boon, propelling further at an increased speed. "Ominous Wind." With a shrug Ryoko orders Xatu to attack knowing the little girl's Pokémon didn't stand a chance of actually surviving the attack. From around Xatu a powerful whirl wind of dark winds surges and slashes at Exeggutor like a thousand knives all cutting into it at once. For a moment Exeggutor stands motionless before Xatu headbutts into it knocking the already fainted Pokémon off kilter and to the ground. Ryoko shakes his head looking slightly disappointed. "Come on. That was me holding back." This was not a lie. He could have very easily slaughtered Exeggutor with any of his other Pokémon or simply opened with an Ominous Wind, but he decided to at least give her somewhat of a fighting chance.

The girl calls back her Pokémon and sighs, but she just as quickly smiles ear to ear. "Wow, you're like super strong! I couldn't beat you, but I want to get even stronger now!" She cheers and steps to the side letting Ryoko pass.

What was this? Ryoko thinks to himself how bizarre her response was. Losing was shameful to those in Cipher. A learning experience or not there were still consequences for defeat. Kanto was beginning to feel like this naively optimistic and backwards society. This girl was a truly better sport than any agent Ryoko knows. Though with that in mind he can't imagine any of these girls as being even remotely qualified to work for Cipher.

Ryoko works his way more through the sophomoric maze trying not to show his disdain for this trivial pursuit. He had to play the part or else risk getting compromised. It could be worse though. He was at least enjoying Mary's company. She seemed to be at least a competent trainer from what he could tell. Still nowhere near the level of Mei or Haruka. As unfair a comparison as that may be.

He finally reaches his next opponent, a woman dressed in a black and pink dress standing around with a suave smile. "Big boy doesn't like to mess around huh?" She winks and balances one of her Pokeballs delicately on her finger tip.

"Like I said, I'm going easy on you all." He calls out his first Pokémon. Switching it up this time. Choosing not one of his various Psychic Types, but his Whiscash.

The beauty looks more than a little confused. "A Whiscash? You're going to take on a Grass Type gym trainer with a Ground/Water Type?" The glaring flaw in his typing choice is astounding. Couldn't make it any easier for her than throwing a Pokémon with a four times weakness to Grass at her. She calls out a Paras.

Ryoko rolls his eyes, "A Pokémon and trainers strengths are determined by far more than just one's ability to choose the right type. Obviously, so I'll give you the first move."

"Quite the gentleman. Poisonpowder!" Paras spews out a plump of poisonous spores fly right into Whiscash's face. The beauty smirks, "Perfect."

Ryoko pretends to yawn and calls out his first move, "Rain Dance." Whiscash starts flailing about and calls upon the rain. It pours down on the battlefield and instantly washes away the poison.

"Hydration. I wasn't expect Whiscash to have that." She's far more concerned about that then the oncoming attack however.

"Ice Beam." Ryoko just points to Paras and Whiscash happily responds with a perfectly timed attack. The beam of ice flies forward in a ray of blue and white energy before connecting and bursting against Paras. Felling the Pokémon on impact. Ryoko is beginning to feel a bit disappointed by this battle so far, but what else could he expect against everyday gym trainers. Nothing special that's for sure. He wishes the beauty would just surrender now and stop wasting his time.

"Okay this time we aren't messing around. Parasect go! Use Giga Drain!" Parasect charges out of the gate. The second of her Pokémon is called out Parasect makes a mad dash at Whiscash. With one swift lung Parasect digs its spiny stinger into Whiscash and sucks the health right out of it. The damage is definitely noticeable, but far from concerning on Whiscash and Ryoko's part.

"Aqua Tail." Whiscash dislodges the stinger and beats Parasect with his tail. Batting it away and knocking it out just as quickly as Paras.

The beauty stands stunned, "How? It wasn't even an effective attack?"

Ryoko smiles maliciously. "That's the different is strength between you and I." He tries to dial back his darker ambitions, but he reveled in beating down weaker Pokémon.

"Is that so? Then taste my Carnivine!" She once more wastes no time attacking. "Start off with a Leaf Storm!" She's through playing around. She is really to put Ryoko and Whiscash in their place. Though Ryoko has other plans.

He smirks and allows Whiscash to take the hit. A sacrifice well worth the price. He wasn't worried that such a weak attack would faint his Pokémon. "Earthquake." Without hesitation Ryoko and Whiscash strike the arena shakes and rumbles leveling the poor Carnivine with yet another powerful attack. Just as devastating, if not more than the last ones. Carnivine is taken down with one hit and like that Ryoko's battle ends with a clean sweep. Without even as much as a sweat. He didn't feel bad for his opponent, but he can tell the beauty was a bit miffed at how easily he beat her. Even going as far to use a Pokémon four times weak to all her attacks. It was certainly embarrassing to her, but she grins and bears it.

"Gotta say hot shot. You're something else. Don't expect Mary to be as much of a push over though." She lets him pass and winks.

"I've still only been holding back so I'll be fine." He comment is pompous and cocky which rubs her the wrong way, but Ryoko didn't care. He was only here to keep up his lame façade.

He navigates through the last of the maze before reaching Mary who stands between him and Erika. "Well you've done pretty well so far. Now it's my turn." She tosses her Pokeball up and down in her hands. "I don't want you to hold back. Promise?"

Ryoko smirks and nods, "If you really want to get beat that badly, fine. I promise." He carefully selects his next Pokémon to sweep Mary's team this time. "Alakazam." He calls out one of his oldest and most reliable Pokémon. Second only to his Metagross.

"Good. Hoppip." She gracefully calls out her first Pokémon.

"Wait, now who's holding back?" Ryoko can't believe she's throwing a Hoppip at him. It was borderline insulting. Next thing he knows she'll try throwing a Magikarp against him.

"Oh calm down, my Pokémon are still nothing to sneeze at." She giggles. "You'll think that's funny when you see my third Pokémon. Now Hoppip use Giga Drain." She directs her Pokémon to use a similar strategy as Ryoko's previous opponent.

Hoppip floats over lackadaisically to Alakazam with a bright beaming smile. It's sporadic bobbing and weaving through the air makes it hard for Alakazam to focus on it and hit the Pokémon effectively.

Drawing in ever closer Ryoko acts fast. "Teleport behind it and use Signal Beam." Alakazam raises his spoons and vanishes into thin air leaving Hoppip without a target. In a flash Alakazam appears behind Hoppip and sends beam of energy towards its back. Hoppip bobs down low avoid the attack. Though Ryoko wonders if that was intentional. "Focus Blast." He is through playing games, but Mary laughs the whole time. Alakazam attempt to find a pattern in Hoppip's movement, but to no avail. Instead completely missing once more.

"Oh so close," Mary giggles, but is secretly relieved. Hoppip wouldn't have been able to take any of those hits if they actually connected, but she wasn't about to show Ryoko she was sweating. "Alright Hoppip use Giga Drain."

"Nice try, Teleport." Hoppip floats over to Alakazam and attempts to latch onto Ryoko's Pokémon before he quickly teleports away. "Signal Beam and don't miss this time!" Alakazam makes sure to target Hoppip more precisely. This time hitting Hoppip right on the mark. Mary's first Pokémon goes down with ease.

Mary nods, "Impressive. Go Skiploom." Her next Pokémon comes out, floating in a similar manner to Hoppip.

"You just have the whole Hoppip line don't you?" Mary doesn't say anything, but winks and grins teasingly. "Then I may need something with a bit more precision." Ryoko calls back Alakazam. "Your turn Absol." Ryoko's Absol stands proudly with a sold gaze staring down Skiploom.

"So does this mean you're really not holding back?" Mary smirks and makes her first move. "Cotton Spore and slow Absol down."

"Razor Wind," Ryoko acts fast and has Absol slash at the air with his sharp head blade. The wind cuts through the air. Instantly stopping the Cotton Spore. "Now Swords Dance."

"That's not good. Okay Skiploom Acrobatics." Mary has her Skiploom float right into range of Absol. A risky move, but the attack will be all the more effective if she can get in close and hit.

"Sucker Punch." Ryoko snaps his finger and unleashes Absol. He jumps high into the air and pounces right onto Skiploom. Viciously taking down her second Pokémon. "Critical Hit too. Super Luck is paying off already."

Mary nods and calls out her final Pokémon. "Okay Jumpluff. Honestly, let's just try to get a hit in on that Absol." Her already low expectations of winning this fight are now all but nonexistent so it's the best she can hope for. "Mega Drain."

Ryoko rolls his eyes and smiles, "Nothing personal Mary, but you didn't want me to hold back. Psycho Cut." With that later command Absol slashes once more with his head blade. A burst of psychic energy rips through the air like a hot knife through butter. Flying right at Skiploom. With that the battle was over.

Mary nods and calls back her Pokémon. "Well you definitely didn't pull any punches. Congratulations, you have earned the right to battle Erika." She stands aside and tries to hide her disappoint.

Ryoko walks forward, but stops suddenly. "You put up a better fight than the others so don't feel bad."

Mary smiles and shakes her head, "I'm not. Maybe we can have a real battle with my actual team one of these days."

Ryoko smirks, "I'd like that. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a battle with your boss to win." Ryoko walks up to Erika is had time to study his every move and strategy. This didn't bother him though. Unlike what he said to Mary, he was still only holding back.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. So this chapter was a bit later than usual. A few things arose, sudden scheduling conflicts with work, a lot of family issues, and other problems arose. I've also made this chapter considerably short since; one, time constraints and two, there was nothing really to pad the chapter out with. So the 4,000 minimum is getting lifted, at least until Shadow Destiny's back catalog grows a bit more. Tia's Tales will be on schedule next week though so don't worry about that.


	9. Chapter 9: Dark Doubles

Chapter 9: Dark Doubles

Ryoko steps up to the final platform where Erika stands patiently. "You've done quite well so far Ryoko. It's a pleasure to see such talented trainers coming to challenge our gym." Erika replies sweetly, knowing that Ryoko will be quite ruthless when battling her. A concept she's certainly not unfamiliar with.

"Thanks, before we begin can I make a request?" His question surprises Erika, but she nods and hears him out. "If you really want to see me at my best then can we have a double battle?" It's been a while since Ryoko's had a good double battle.

Erika smiles and nods, "Very well, I don't get many requests for double battles. This should be fun." She calls out her first two Pokémon: Jumpluff and Tangrowth. Erika smiles and patiently awaits Ryoko's choices.

Ryoko grabs his two Pokeballs and looks back at Mary who was watching closely. "Sorry Mary, but I lied about not holding back before."

She nods and smiles, "Oh I'm not surprised. I'm just interested to see you take a battle seriously." She has no qualms with this since she knows Ryoko wasn't taking her battle seriously. She just wants to know what he has up his sleeve.

"Alright, go Yanmega." He calls out his first choice. A very respectable Bug Type thanks to Yanmega's incredible speed, but he's hardly the real show stopper here. Ryoko smiles maliciously. "Go Metagross." He calls out his shiny beast of a Pokémon into battle.

Erika is initially unnerved by this, but she doesn't show it. "My, a shiny Metagross. How rare." She can't deny this was a very rare sight and she was eager to see it battle. "Let us begin."

She quickly regrets those words. As soon as the words leave her mouth Metagross springs into action with a devastating Meteor Mash to Jumpluff. "Yanmega use Air Slash on Tangrowth." With incredible speed Yanmega's wings flap and flutter in a blur of motion causing the air around him to lash out at Tangrowth.

"Rock Slide Tangrowth. Jumpluff use Sleep Powder." Tangrowth calls down a huge pile of rocks that surprisingly don't hit Yanmega, but instead protects Tangrowth from the Air Slash. While Jumpluff takes the brunt of Metagross's assault and gives the perfect chance to spray her spores all over Metagross at point blank range.

Ryoko's eyes widen at how quickly Erika shut down his usual winning strategies. Erika smiles cheerfully. "Do you really think I'd be so naïve as to come in without a winning team? As a gym leader it is my duty to offer up a suitable challenge to my opponents. One must earn their badges you see." She replies sweetly.

Ryoko smirks, "So you're not pulling any punches either. I guess my Metagross will have to idle until he wakes up. Not like it matters, he never listens to me anyway." That was the beauty in Ryoko's double battling strategies. Metagross's four brains and none of them listened to him. Metagross could calculate a winning strategy in seconds flat without any input from Ryoko. Leaving him to focus on his other Pokémon instead of dividing up his attention. "Yanmega go in quick with the Bug Buzz." Yanmega's Speed Boost kicks in and darts through the air. In a flash Yanmega is hovering over Tangrowth. Yanmega's wings beat rapidly and send a distorted buzzing sound towards Tangrowth and hits hard.

"Tangrowth use Power Whip. Jumpluff use Giga Drain." One of Tangrowth's many tangled vines lashes out from his arm and swats away Yanmega. While Jumpluff happily saps away at Metagross's health. "You know I could have just left Metagross a little Memento. A shame about Clear Body though. This works just as well I suppose." She responds sweetly.

"Well you've definitely proven to be sufficiently more terrifying than your girls." Ryoko has to think quickly. Does he wait for Metagross to wake up or switch him out now? He trusts in his Metagross and leaves him in to take a few hits and hopefully wake up. If there was something Ryoko could always trust in it was Metagross's ferocity. "Yanmega shift and use Bug Buzz, but keep your distance." His command seems a bit cryptic, but Yanmega happily obeys. Yanmega gets another Speed Boost and soars high into the air. This is when Erika is taken by surprise. The Bug Buzz strikes quick and hard, but hits Jumpluff who was still trying to sap Metagross's health. The attack takes Erika and Jumpluff by surprise and manages to take out Jumpluff's remaining heath.

Erika frowns, "Clever, attacking while Metagross was being used as a decoy. Tangrowth get Yanmega down here." She calls back Jumpluff for her next Pokémon. "Go Bellossom!" She calls out her next Pokémon while Tangrowth stretches out more vines to grab Yanmega.

"Keep evading those vine and Air Slash." Yanmega rips through the air with Tangrowth's vines hot on his tail. With a quick turn Yanmega Air Slashes the vines away and speeds in from behind for another powerful hit. In that moment Tangrowth quickly whirls around and smacks Yanmega with a devastating Power Whip. Quickly following up with a mighty Rock Slide to hit Yanmega while he staggered to recover. Knocking Yanmega out. Ryoko calls back his Yanmega and goes to his next Pokémon. "Go Xatu."

"Swords Dance Bellossom. Tangrowth you too." Both of Erika's Pokémon power up while Metagross sleeps. Though they're both in from a rude awakening. Metagross wakes up and roar furiously. Training its sights on Tangrowth. The Swords Dance was a bit of waste when it decides to Hammer Arm Tangrowth to the ground. Knocking him out cold.

"Well someone got up on the wrong side of the arena. Go Victreebel, use Sunny Day. Bellossom use Drain Punch on Metagross!" Erika still finds time to joke even though Ryoko was now the one taking this battle all too seriously.

"Xatu use Psychic on Victreebel." He's definitely starting to feel the pressure in this battle. Metagross has already taken enough hits.

Victreebel casts up a radiance of sunlight as Xatu channels his psychic energy into a direct hit on Victreebel. The damage is brutal, but Ryoko notices something in Victreebel's mouth. It had eaten a Sitrus Berry to recover some of the damage. All the while Bellossom charged forward. Metagross charges at Bellossom with a Meteor Mash at the ready. All of a sudden the sunlight kicks in. Bellossom smiles confidently as she begins to glow. Suddenly her speed doubles. In a blur of motion Bellossom runs under Metagross and punches up. Sapping the last remain health from Ryoko's star fighter.

Ryoko scowls and calls back Metagross. "I can't believe you were out smarted like that. You should have known about Chlorophyll." He berates his felled Pokémon for underestimating their enemy and moves onto his fourth Pokémon. "Go Whiscash. Let's clear the battlefield a little with an Earthquake."

"Dual Leaf Blades you two!" Erika makes sure that Whiscash doesn't get this attack off.

However, Ryoko simply smiles. "Now you'll see why Double Battles are my area of expertise. Xatu use Ally Switch!" Xatu flaps his wings and suddenly teleports away. Whiscash too teleports away and is replaced with Xatu. Whiscash, now in Xatu's place, is free to unleash a brutal Earthquake knocking out Victreebel as the Leaf Blades connect. Surprisingly though, Bellossom still stands. "Oh god." Ryoko doesn't like the looks of that. "Psychic Xatu!" He's hoping the attack will reach before Bellossom hits, but Erika was smarter than that. Bellossom jumps into the air heads right for Whiscash.

"Leaf Blade for real this time." Bellossom speeds towards Whiscash and tears into Ryoko's Pokémon with a mighty slash. Only three remained on Ryoko's side. "Now go Exeggutor!"

Ryoko grits his teeth angrily. "Alakazam. Finish Bellossom, Xatu. Psychic!" Bellossom turns to see the second Psychic coming towards her and accepts her fate. Happy to have taken out two of Ryoko's power players. "Alakazam Signal Beam."

"Exeggutor use Solar Beam on Xatu and go Vileplume." Exeggutor doesn't need to worry about charging with the Sunny Day in effect and finally puts down Ryoko's Xatu. Though strangely enough Erika isn't worried about Signal Beam. Erika smiles while Ryoko growls.

"Let me guess, a Tanga Berry?" It perfectly explains why Erika wasn't worried about a Bug Type move from Ryoko. He calls out Absol at his last Pokémon. A move he was really hoping he wouldn't have to come.

Erika smiles, "Correct, you're quick on the up take. Now Vileplume use Petal Dance on Alakazam and Exeggutor use Moonlight." A rare move to see on Exeggutor.

"You bred it for that purpose didn't you?" He notices something else strange too. A Tanga Berry pops out from Exeggutor's leaves too. "And it has the Harvest ability?" Erika's Pokémon was proving to be quite formidable. "Well now he's completely fresh." Full health and a new berry. "Damn, Alakazam use Teleport! Absol use Razor Wind." Vileplume's Petal Dance misses Alakazam as he Teleports behind Vileplume. "Psychic!" A double hit from Razor Wind and Psychic fells Vileplume and Exeggutor didn't seem to enjoy that attack too much either.

"Very good," Erika accepts Exeggutor's fate as he takes a Razor Wind and a Signal Beam finally knocking it out.

Ryoko wipes a bead of sweat from his forehead. "Finally. I never would have imagined a gym leader being so strong."

Erika giggles, "I suppose I did make a special exception for your battle."

Ryoko cocks his head, "What are you saying?"

She giggles once more. "I'm saying this was a team I was testing to use in the next Pokémon World Tournament. It's still a couple of months way though so I thought now would be a good time to experiment with my team roster. It could use work, I can definitely replace Jumpluff with something with a bit more kick."

Ryoko couldn't believe what he's hearing. "Wait so this was like practice to you?" He clenches his fist.

She shakes her head, "No, I took our battle quite seriously, I just figured some of my Pokémon would be a bit too challenging for you."

"Let me fight them then!" He points to her accusingly.

Erika frowns for the first time, "You'd lose. Plain and simple. You're arrogant. I will award you your gym badge, but you'd best adjust your attitude or you'll never grow any stronger."

"What do you mean I'm arrogant?" He step closer to her as she produces the gym badge.

Erika shakes her head and hands him the badge. "If you have to ask you'll never know. Congratulations on the victory, I wish the best in your future endeavors. I'm sure you'll come to understand in time what I mean."

Ryoko takes the badge and puts it in a small badge case and turns his back to her. Without a word Ryoko walks off. "Hey Ryoko, stop by the Game Corner tomorrow we can hang out then." Mary offers sweetly, but it seems to fall on deaf ears. Ryoko is too lost in his thoughts to really notice what's going on around him.

The word arrogant just continues to ring in his ears making him more and more frustrated. He had no idea what she meant. Ryoko was strong and he knew it, sure there were trainers stronger than he was. He accepted that, but still he isn't really to expect weaker trainers to put up a challenge. Maybe he did underestimate his opponent? Clearly Erika was strong, but Ryoko was confident that he'd win and he did.

He returns to his room where Mika is reading through documents. "Did you stake out the Game Corner?"

Ryoko pauses as he comes too. Right to business of course. "Yeah, the place is riddled with cameras. I'm sure this was to stop people from cheating, but I noticed guards regularly guarding the door. It's probably where they store prizes now that Rocket isn't using it."

"I thought the same, we still need another day. I'm sure you can stall a bit more. How did your gym battle go?" Mika's mind is calm and calculated. She makes sure absolutely everything is going according to plan.

"I won it. Nobody suspects a thing if that's what you're wondering." Ryoko knows that's all she really cares about.

"Good, just keep up the act and don't get too close to anyone." Little does she know, it's already too late for that.

Ryoko rolls his eyes and pulls out his PD*A and calls up Haruka. He steps into the other room to have a more private chat with her.

Haruka on the other line was hard at work when she gets the call. She quickly answers. "Hey Ryoko." She responds happily.

"Hey babe, how are you doing?" Ryoko sits on the bed and relaxes a bit.

"I'm good. I miss you." She says having not even been twenty-four hours since he left yet.

He chuckles, "I miss you too Haruka. Anything interesting going on with you?"

Haruka looks to the walkie-talkie she took from the Snagem grunts. "Nope, nothing exciting going on here." She lies without skipping a beat.

"Alright, I figured I'd just check in with you. Our mission's going smooth too." Ryoko does think of something though, "Hey Haruka, be honest. Am I arrogant?"

She's a little surprised to hear this coming from him. "Where is this coming from?"

"The Celadon City gym leader said I was. Do you think so?" He wants an honest answer. Something he knows Haruka is always good for. She may be his girlfriend, but she's not afraid to point out his faults or her own.

"Dear, I love you, but she's absolutely right." Haruka doesn't mince words. "The admins have tried to make you realize this for years."

"Well she's the first one to outright say it." Ryoko groans.

"Well they thought it'd be for the best that you figured it out on your own." Haruka was privy to a lot of admin level knowledge since Ein has never been worried about speaking on such matters around Haruka.

"She said the same thing. So what should I do?" Ryoko hopes for some clue.

"Seriously? You've been told you have to figure it out on your own." Haruka knows it's harsh, but it's for the best.

He sighs and lies on the bed. "Fine, I'll have a lot to think about. Well I'll let you get some sleep."

"I'll be up for a few more hours don't worry about me." It was considerably later in Orre than Kanto.

"Go to bed Haruka." Ryoko has been known to keep tabs on her sleep schedule since she refuses to do it herself.

She sighs, "Fine, good night."

"Put down your gadgets, device, or whatever else." Ryoko knows her saying good night and actually going to be are two different things.

She groans this time, "Fine." He hears the sound of her dropping whatever she had on the table. "I'm going to bed."

"That's not your room. You're in your little office space, I know it." Ryoko couldn't help smile at this little routine.

"Jesus, you don't give up." Haruka steps out into the hall and walks to her room. Ryoko hears her footsteps echoing in the hall and counts the appropriate amount of time it'd take for her to walk to her room. "There, I'm in my room."

"Turn off your computer." He had to eliminate every distraction.

"Are you my boyfriend or my mom?" She complains once more and powers off her computer. "There, no distractions. Good night."

"Not until you're actually in bed." He tries not to laugh, but he takes every precaution. If even one thing is missed she'll most likely go right back to what she was doing.

Once more she groans, "Seriously?" She sets down her PD*A and changes before climbing under the covers and grabbing it again. "I'm in bed. If you make me do one more thing I swear to god, Ryoko."

He laughs, "No, you're too lazy to get out of bed now. Good night." Haruka was like a Snorlax. Once she laid down to sleep she won't get up until she's good and ready.

She rolls her eyes, "Good night. I love you."

Ryoko smiles, "I love you too Haruka." He hangs up and steps back into the main room where Mika was on a call.

"Yes, everything is proceeding well. Mission's going smoothly and no one suspects a thing." To Ryoko it seemed she was having so sort of debriefing. "Alright, love you." She hangs up the PD*A and looks back at Ryoko.

"Who was that?" He didn't expect her to be in a relationship given her line of work.

"My husband." She pulls a wedding ring from her pocket. "I don't usually wear it in the field."

Ryoko nods, "I never thought you were married."

Mika smirks, "Yeah, not a lot of people do. Still Haruto and I have been married almost ten years. We first met on a field mission ironically enough. We posed as a couple to fool a fancy party full of diplomats. We fell in love not long after that." She smiles nostalgically.

Ryoko smiles too. He's glad she shared this with him. He is getting to know his partner better and honestly, even if many would tease him for this, Ryoko too thinks about marriage. He never brought it up, but marrying Haruka just seemed inevitable. Which is of course what he wants and he's sure she does too. "That's cool. I'm happy for you two."

"Thanks, I've heard you and Haruka are quite the item too." She smirks and makes him blush. "She's a handful, kid."

He nods, "I know, I wouldn't want it any other way." All her quirks aside Ryoko wouldn't change a thing about Haruka. This Haruka's said many times to him.

"That's good, well get some rest. Tomorrow we will do more recon. Just act natural and do whatever you want. Just make sure to check on the Game Corner a couple times throughout the day." His job wasn't too difficult thankfully.

"Alright, Mewtwo's data will be ours." Ryoko is confident in this goal.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas universe as a whole. Well this was a shorter chapter. I feel like not all chapters need to be upwards to 4,000 words, because frankly some of the chapters don't really have enough going on to justify it without adding in fluff and padding. Plus, it makes writing the chapters faster without a restriction. The same goes for Tia's Tales. Plus, if the chapters are short people may be more inclined to read them.


	10. Chapter 10: Overcast Ego

Chapter 10: Overcast Ego

With the weight of Erika's words still heavy in his mind Ryoko gets up first thing in the morning and decides to head for the Game Corner to further stake out the place. The slots should at least keep his mind off of things. Plus, he's sure Mary will be there and will no doubt want to hang out. Afterwards, Ryoko wants to make sure to get some training done to see what he can do to improve on what Erika said.

Being called arrogant is as worse as it gets for Ryoko, especially when even Haruka agrees with it. He's strong, proud, and confident. Ryoko doesn't see how any of those qualities made him arrogant. Still he's always striding to get stronger so he will not settle when people find faults in his battling strategies.

He walks into the Game Corner and sits at one of the machines and becomes quickly lost in his thoughts. Usually after a loss Ryoko is quick to reevaluate his strategy and the battle as a whole. This was a solid match with an equal opponent however. If there is one thing he has to commend Erika on it's adaptability. She was able to give him an even match up while still being the superior trainer. She brought herself down to his level. Which feels demeaning in its own right. Still he doesn't get hung up on that. His first fault was letting Metagross stay in and take all the residual Giga Drain damage instead of switching out. He's always relied on Metagross though. Despite him always acting on his own. It's not that Metagross won't listen to him at all. Just most of the time Metagross has already thought up a better strategy than Ryoko's.

While caught up in though he aimlessly pulls at the slot machine arm. Without even really realizing he hits a windfall of tokens. "Wow, three sevens and you don't even bat an eye? Either you're really out of it today or you're just like the chillest guy ever." Mary's voice immediately catches Ryoko's attention.

"Huh?" He looks down at his nearly overflowing tray. "Yeah, it's whatever." He dismisses this, pretending to be cool.

Mary laughs and nudges his shoulder. "Don't give me that, you were totally spacing out."

Ryoko nods and gathers up his coins. "Yeah, sorry. I've just been thinking."

"About what Erika said?" Mary grins, grabs one of his coins, and cranks the slot next to Ryoko.

"Hey!" He didn't appreciate him taking her winnings.

"Like you're going to use all those coins?" Mary giggles and snatches another one.

"Maybe I really had my sights set on a Porygon?" He smirks and willingly hands her a few coins. "Here, some pity coins."

"Oh okay." She rolls her eyes and focuses on the slots. "Don't let what Erika said bring you down." Mary's tone is much softer now.

Ryoko lowers his head slightly. "She's right though. I could have very easily lost that fight if I wasn't more careful there in the end."

Mary shakes her head, "Erika's on an entirely different level from you. She may seem harsh, but she wants to help you."

Ryoko desperately wants to say he doesn't need her pity, but that seemed a bit too intense for this situation. "Well, I'm definitely doing some training once I'm done here."

Mary does seem a little confused however. "Yeah, speaking of why are you still here? I figured you'd be off to Saffron City or some other city to get a gym badge."

Ryoko flinches, he didn't have a good excuse. So he wings it, "I just wanted to stick around a couple more days to train. Maybe do some shopping later." Flimsy excuse, but he's sure Mary will buy it.

She smiles, "Makes sense, Erika has a way of getting to people, but don't let it bother you too much. I remember one time she told me about this girl who came in with like no strategy and Erika destroyed her team. So naturally Erika told her off and the very next time this girl was battling like an expert." She recants a reminiscent tale.

"Yeah, well the difference between her and I is that I didn't lose." Ryoko is still too proud to be compared to someone who lost to Erika in their gym battle. "Was she some little girl like the kid that came in yesterday before me?"

Mary chuckles, "No, her name's Tia. She and Erika are good friends now. I even heard she's made her way to the Elite Four in the Johto League."

Ryoko tries his best not to cringe hearing her name again. Does this girl have connections to everyone? He thinks to himself as he continues to crank the slots. He didn't like all the people having so many close ties to one another. Especially when these people are all very powerful trainers. "Well good for her." He puts on his best, fake enthusiasm towards her, when really he would be happy to never see her or her world champion friend again.

"So you want to train?" Mary offers in an excited manner.

Ryoko looks at her with confusion. "Yeah, but didn't I destroy your team in our last battle?" He sees very little he could learn from a trainer much weaker than himself.

Mary pouts and grabs him by the arm. "Oh so you think that little of my skills huh? I'll show you!" She drags him out of the Game Corner and out to Route 16. Ryoko complaining the whole way through.

"Okay, you dragged me out here. Now what?" Ryoko manages to wrestle out of her grips. He didn't mind the idea of training, but her approach was irritating. Though, thinking about it he did kind of insult her so what goes around comes around.

"We're going to have a friendly little sparring session. This time I'm using my Pokémon. Not the league sanctioned team." She balances one of the Pokeballs on her fingertip and catches it in her palm. "Go Cloyster!" Mary surprises Ryoko with a Water Type. She smirks, "What did you think I focused exclusively on Grass Types. That's just Celadon's theme. My team's actually quite diverse." She smiles proudly. "Good luck if you try using Xatu or Yanmega."

"I'm not that dumb. Go Absol." He stands cautiously as he awaits what every Mary has planned.

"Icicle Spear!" She is quick starts off with an attack.

"Sucker Punch Absol." Just as Ryoko planned. Absol charges ahead with a front paw radiating a black aura. With a swift swipe of his claw Absol hits Cloyster's hard outer shell, dealing very little damage.

Mary smirks, "Shell Smash. Then Rock Blast." Cloyster unleashes a series of rocks at Absol who was surprisingly not fast enough to avoid it.

"Your Cloyster's pretty fast all things consider and hits like a Miltank." Mary's Cloyster was obviously well bred. Absol was not looking good after that last hit since Cloyster was lucky enough to get all five hits. Though Cloyster did seem to wince after the attack.

"Thank you, we've trained hard." She pats herself and her Pokémon on the back.

"Psycho Cut!" Ryoko antes on the decreases to defenses and lack of health giving him a chance to faint her Pokémon.

Mary smiles confidently. "Icicle Spear!" Five more consecutive hits finally knock out Absol. Leaving Ryoko amazed. Mary giggles, "I'm sure you want an explanation. You see I've raised Cloyster from a baby Shellder with his Speed and Attack in mind. He was hatched with the ability Skill Link. Combine all that with a Life Orb," she points so a small purple orb tucked in Cloyster's shell, "and you have a power house of a sweeper."

"Wow, I did not expect you to come in here with such a competitive tiered Pokémon." Well Ryoko is a bit worried now. He always considered himself way above average, but he's seen competitive battles and trainers like them were on a level all their own when it came to raising their Pokémon effectively. Still Ryoko was no push over.

Mary laughs confidently, "Well you don't make it to the quarter finals of the Pokémon World Tournament on good looks alone." She winks.

Ryoko now knows where he stands compared to her. She's good enough to compete on the world stage. That was more than a little daunting. "So were you holding back too?"

Mary nods, "Quite a bit more than you were, but yes. Sorry if I tricked you. I don't usually like to come off as some kind of high and mighty trainer." She says humbly, feeling a little embarrassed that she's acting so cocky right now.

"Then I'll have to use my best Pokémon. Go Metagross." Metagross comes out and stares dauntingly at Cloyster.

Mary smiles warmly, "That's what I wanted to see." She calls back her Cloyster and moves replaces him with an equally well trained Ninetales. A drought casts over the battlefield and draws out intense sunlight. "I'll allow you the first move."

Ryoko was not playing around anymore. "Meteor Mash!" Metagross's tried and true attack. Metagross nods and hurls itself forward.

"Nasty Plot then Solar Beam!" Metagross plows into Ninetales with its fist doing a significant amount of damage. Still not enough to take out Ninetales who's now amplified Solarbeam stared Metagross in the face. A mighty beam of light blasts Metagross across the battle field and to the ground. "You know for a smart Pokémon like Metagross to just charge in blindly like that is really confusing. It's like he's not thinking, but just attacking. I'm really disappointed Ryoko." Mary's condescension stings.

Ryoko can't believe he's getting beaten so easily. "Metagross, we need to analyze her strategy better." The first thing Ryoko notices is Ninetales eating Leftovers. "We can expect a Fire Blast so we need to get in close, but back off quickly too. So Zen Headbutt." Now he was thinking strategically instead of his usual all out offense.

Mary giggles, "Zen Headbutt won't really do the job. I could try anting on a Fire Blast, but this is more effective in the long run. Will-O-Wisp." As Metagross lunges forward Mary's Ninetales manages to connect and burn Ryoko's Pokémon. The damage to Ninetales being nerfed significantly. Mary's thinking on levels way higher than Ryoko's.

With Metagross's health dwindling he had no real choice other than to call him back. "Fine, you win. I can't beat you." He grumbles.

Mary shakes her head. "Geez you're dense. Instead of thinking you've lost try and think of ways to beat me. I know my Ninetales won't be able to sustain too many more hits. Your best bet is Whiscash."

Ryoko groans, "I know that. I'm not some amateur here." He calls out Whiscash. "Aqua Tail!" Whiscash swims over and beats down Ninetales with a powerful swipe of his tail.

Mary nods, "Yeah, I know. Though another Meteor Mash would have been much more effective. Alright, Breloom's turn." In a surprising switch in Mary calls out a Breloom. "Surprised? Remember I said I dated a trainer one time. He was sweet enough to catch this little guy for me." She pets Breloom affectionately on the head.

"Fighting and Grass Type great." Ryoko dreads this match up more than the last. He notices something strange about Breloom, he looked ill, like he was already poisoned. Then Ryoko noticed an orb around his neck. "A Toxic Orb?"

"Bulk Up and bingo." She gives Ryoko the peace sign. Breloom uses Bulk Up giving it a good buff to his Attack and Defense. "Now, Seed Bomb!"

"Ice Beam!" Ryoko acts quickly and has Whiscash blast the seed, freezing them. The residual beam connects with Breloom for a small amount of damage. Which appears to just fade away? "Let me guess, Poison Heal?"

Mary nods, "Quick on the up take. I know this is a pretty unfair match up, but what are you going to do?" She didn't seem to have much sympathy towards Ryoko.

"Fine, I just have to keep it at a distance than. I can do that. Earthquake." Ryoko extends out his hand and gives a thumbs down to Breloom. Whiscash flops up and crashes down creating a large rumble in the ground hitting Breloom.

Mary nods, "Good, but You'd need about six more of those before Breloom would go down." She thinks for a second. "Sorry, eight," she smirks, "Bulk Up once more and go for a Drain Punch." Breloom charges up once more and runs forward to punch the remaining health from Whiscash.

"Ice Beam while Breloom approaches." Ryoko hopes with any luck he could freeze Breloom before it reached Whiscash. The Ice Beam hits with a clean strike, but unfortunately luck was not on his side. Breloom powers through the Ice Beam and leaps into the air. With a powerful punch Breloom saps the remaining health from Whiscash.

Mary smiles and calls back her Pokemon. "I think that's enough for now. Let's grab lunch." She offers with a cheerful smile.

Ryoko pauses and sighs, "Sure, gives me a chance to heal my Pokémon." He walks beside Mary back to the Pokémon Center. He couldn't believe how easily she beat him. A girl like her was thinking on an entirely different level. Both strategically and statistically. "How did you learn to battle like that?" He asks abruptly.

Mary smiles and winks, "I'll tell you, but lunch is on you then."

Ryoko rolls his eyes, "Fine." Mary eagerly leads him to a small restaurant she enjoyed. Very homely and cozy inside. Ryoko still couldn't help feel the stark contrasts between Kanto and Orre. His home has nothing like this. Restaurants in Orre were greasy spoons or made from broken down train cars. Never quaint and clean like these. Even then, he ate from Cipher's cafeterias more often than not.

Mary's quick to order her usual, but Ryoko can't help feel she order a bit more since she knows it's on his dime. "You'll love the food here. Cooking that'll make you feel like it's just like mom and dad's everyone says." Little did Mary know, Ryoko was an orphan. Not that he'd tell her that.

"So you going to tell me or not?" He's quite impatient to her hear strategy.

She nods, "Fine Mr. Impatient, I'll tell you." She reaches into her purse and pulls out a composition notebook. "This is how I beat you."

Ryoko picks up the notebook and pages through it. He's surprised by what he sees. Pages upon pages of notes. Dozens of Pokémon all measured statistically with ideal moves to teach them how to train them to maximize their different abilities. Items to use with certain Pokémon. "This is crazy. You came up with all these statistics on your own?"

Mary shakes her head, "No, I watch other people battle and test out my own strategies. I'm always trying to improve my team. I've even bred Pokémon specifically for tournaments like the World Championship."

Ryoko's astounded, this was the kind of thing he'd expect out of Haruka and even she never took it this far. "Why are you just a gym trainer and not traveling the world like other trainers?" With her skills she could easily beat Pokémon leagues the world over.

"I like competing more than just being a trainer. I and my Pokémon have a structured routine we follow. Breakfast and Training in the morning, strategizing in the afternoon as well as any gym battles I have to attend. Dinner and a bit more training in the evening. Then relax and go to bed. This is pretty much daily for us. Though, I do make time to pamper them too. They work super hard for me so they deserve a treat too." She smiles pleasantly and looks out the window. "We're a team and a family."

Ryoko is surprised to see this level of empathy towards one's Pokémon. He's always seen his Pokémon as tools in battle, allies yes, but never treated them as if they were close to equals. Mary's methods made her seem soft, but somehow with overwhelming results she beat Ryoko. It didn't make sense. TLC did make Pokémon stronger. Her training routine had to be the key. If Ryoko could adopt a similar mentality then he could get that strong too. The key was definitely in her ability to think on many levels above his own.

He smiles, "Thanks, I think I've learned a lot from this." He hands her back the notebook. "Want to train some more after this?" He offers politely, wanting to see her in action some more.

Mary grins from ear to ear. "Definitely, you're really strong too Ryoko. I know you can be even stronger if you practice more like I do."

Ryoko nods, "Thanks, I'll do my best." He gives her a thumbs up. He pauses for a moment. Did he really just do that? He's starting to feel carefree and excited to battle. Pokémon battles are brutal in Orre. Losing was a sign of weakness, weakness was a sign you were a failure, and failures had no place in Cipher. He pushes these thoughts aside for the time being "You said you like competing more. Are there a lot of competitions?"

Mary nods eagerly, "Yeah new local, city, and regional tournaments are popping up all the time. Celadon City had their first local tournament about a month ago. Erika sponsored it and I took first place." Mary is quite proud of herself. "The prize money is big plus. Companies are even starting to sponsor World Tournament players. Before long competitive battling will probably be as big as just training. I can think of one place that would be perfect to hold regional tournaments."

"Where's that?" Ryoko wonders. He shouldn't care, but Mary's fervor is definitely inspiring.

"Believe it or not, the Orre Region." Ryoko's eyes widen in shock and worry. "They have so many colosseums there, it'd be perfect. I've heard all about them. The colosseums in Phenac, Pyrite, Realgam Tower, and the ancient Orre Colosseum." He eyes practically light up. It was definitely new to see someone speaking so highly of Orre. She sighs, "It's a shame about this Cipher jerks running around causing trouble."

This strikes a chord with Ryoko naturally, but he bites his tongue. "I don't know much about Cipher. Aren't then like some kind of unification group?" He wants to size up what the rest of the world thinks of them.

Mary laughs, "Unification group? Try terrorists who are trying to take over the Orre Region with poor, experimented Pokémon. Certainly, Cipher's bad news. Team Rocket even contracted them once to try and take over Viridian City. Luckily our world champ and Erika was there to stop them." She says triumphantly. Ryoko doesn't show it, but he's surprised by what Mary said. He didn't recall seeing Erika there, but there was a lot going on so it's understandable.

Still, Ryoko is practically seething, but he lets it go. Clearly the world doesn't see the vision Cipher has in mind for the Orre Region. A world afraid of change, blind to the harshness of life, and too naïve to understand what this world really needs. "Well, enough about that. Let's get back to training." The two finish up the last of their food and head back out for some more training. Ryoko just need a little more time and he'll be able to leave this city behind.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well this was a chapter I show my knowledge of the competitive Pokemon metagame. Mary kind of embodies a lot of my thoughts on competitive battling. I'm not huge on the metagame, but I've been getting into it a lot lately. Plus, this goes a long way to explaining how such things work in the Sagas Universe.


	11. Chapter 11: A Shadowy Network

Chapter 11: A Shadowy Network

It's a new day in Orre, the blazing sun beats down on a particular trainer as he trains intensely. Wes and his Pokémon are currently locked a battle with a horde of Rhyhorn. Ever since the day he lost to Mei in the tournament Wes has doubled his usual training routine and his improvements are showing. Unfortunately his only real opponents are the wild Pokémon around him as well as Cary, Ebony, and Takumi when he's not busy. Still his resolve burns like the blistering heat around him. Wes sweats profusely as he and his Pokémon train. The progress of battling wild Pokémon for experience is a slow and steady one, but he refuses to give up. Cary suggested many times he go to Pyrite and take on trainers in the Battle Square, but Wes is worried about possibly getting caught. Plus, after what happened the last time he took one of Cary's suggestions Wes isn't quite in the trusting mood yet.

As he finishes off the last of the Rhyhorn, Wes hears a soothing voice from behind him. "Wes, dear, you're going to get heat stroke if you continue training like this." Ebony chastises him.

He sighs and wipes the sweat from his brow. "I have to keep up my training or I'll never get any better."

Ebony saunters over with a dry towel and wipes the sweat and dried sand from face. "Your health is still a priority Wes. We need you to remain able bodied otherwise your training will be for not." She did have a point. All the training in the world won't help if he becomes ill because of it.

Wes stubbornly agrees, "You're right."

Ebony smiles softly, "Of course I am. Now come, we have a mission for you." She leads him back into the warehouse and towards the back where Takumi sits.

Takumi sits stoically and waits for Ebony and Wes. He clears his throat. "We have a mission. Ebony and Cary brought this matter to my attention. In The Under there is apparently a network of top hackers known as the Kids Grid. Put it simply, we want them to side with us in the rebellion. From what we've gathered about them, they have successfully hacked Cipher's systems in the past. A little anyways. Their attempts were quickly neutralized." Their track record was shaky. Hacking Cipher was no small feat, but the fact that they've not yet been able to procure any vital data from them is less than encouraging.

Ebony speaks up, "We believe with our aid the Kids Grid could have the security to acquire more of the resources they need. So the plan is simple. Go to them offering our protection and we get some of the finest hackers in Cipher."

Takumi nods, "I'm sending Ebony as our liaison and Wes, you'll be her back up." He looks to Wes and nods, "You've come a long way; I think you can handle this. The Under is still within Cipher's Sphere of Influence, but often goes neglected. With the exception of having Lady Venus as their diva. So getting in and out through obscure passages without being detected shouldn't be a problem."

"Obscure passages?" Wes questions.

Cary answers this one, "Yeah, we discovered an abandoned factory not too far from Pyrite that's got an old service elevator to an abandoned mine connected to The Under. Gettin' in'll be a piece of cake for you two."

Wes nods approvingly. "Alright, when do we set out?" He looks to Ebony for an answer.

She grins, "As soon as you wash up. They may be children, but you still want to look presentable to them."

Wes nods silently and walks into a small room within the warehouse. It was a quaint washroom with a utility sink, toilet, and a single shower to wash with. It's hardly luxurious, but it services them just fine. Seeing as their bedrooms were nothing more than cots and bed rolls the rebels had little room to judge about in terms of living arrangements. Honestly, working plumbing _is_ a luxury as far as they're concerned.

Wes undresses and leaves his clothes in the corner of the room. He turns on the water and is instantly relieved by the cold water pouring over his head. It quickly washes away sweat and caked on dirt all over his face and body. As well as the sand and debris entangled in his tan, spiked hair.

While he showered Wes had one thing on his mind, Mei. What if she showed up? Could he fight her? Cipher's influence is region wide, it's not unlikely a red flag would be tripped and she'd discover them. He pushes these thoughts to the back of his mind however. Wes couldn't continue to live in fear of her. He strides to overcome her and become a stronger trainer to finally beat her. He unfortunately knows she thinks the same. Without a doubt after their last run it she's now made it her life mission to capture and detain him. It's a chilling thought, but that thought in mind keeps him ever vigilant.

He shuts off the water and dries himself off before getting dressed. He didn't have much in the way of clothes so the clothes he was wearing earlier will have to suffice.

As he steps out he's greeted by Ebony who stood in front of the door. "Good, you're ready. Let's go." As Wes was the only one with a means of transportation outside of Pokémon he was often delegated with transporting the rebels around the region.

The two head out on Wes's motorcycle with Ebony in the passenger car. The harsh winds and shifting desert sand definitely do not do them any favors as far as making for a comfortable travel, but it's what everyone has come to expect in Orre.

Meanwhile is another part of Orre, one agents is hard at work. Haruka fights with a particular stubborn and tiny screw on her new visor. "Come on you son of a-" Suddenly her door opens.

"Hey Haruka!" Mei says cheerfully, startling Haruka causing her to strip the screw.

She lets out an exasperated sigh and sets her tool down. "Hey Mei, I wasn't expect to see you today." She does her best to just let it go and not get mad, but her frustration is certainly noticeable.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting something, but I was bored and thought I'd visit." A perfectly valid justification in her mind. "Rebel activity has gone quiet and Ryoko's off on his mission. So I figured we could hang out." Mei knows Haruka is free most days when she's not doing continued research and tinkering with her toys.

Haruka smiles, "I guess I've been a bit lonely without Ryoko around. Though I have had a lot more free time to work on my inventions." She shows off her new visor.

She'd replaced a lot of the external parts with smaller components to cut down on the overall size to make them look more like regular sunglasses. Mei checks them out. "Well they're definitely a lot more stylish than the current models. Think you could make me a pair in pink?" Mei giggles and tries them on. "So how do they work?"

Haruka taps on a little button on the right arm of the glasses. Suddenly a small reticle appears before Mei's eyes. She looks to Haruka which pulls up her Cipher agent data. "Wow cool, its go all your data." She calls out her Makuhita and examines him. It gives a very comprehensive list of details. "This is a lot of info. Shadow Pokémon checker, its moves, a move pool, stats, nature, ability, and egg group."

Haruka nods proudly. "Yet, it is made using the data from Cipher's systems as well and the global Pokedex database. Thank you open source developing."

Mei takes the glasses off and rubs her eyes. "That's all really cool Haruka, but it's a lot to take in, it is very cluttered." It was a bit of sensory overload for Mei.

Haruka quickly writes down Mei's critique. "That's good to know. I was thinking of implementing all that into separate pages you can scroll through with buttons on the side."

Mei nods, "That'd be a lot better, because all that made it a bit tough to see." The two share a laugh and continue to chat casually.

"So I saw your victory at the Realgam Tower the other day. I bet that was exciting." Haruka did enjoy watching Mei and Ryoko battling. Especially Mei because she's always experimenting with different team combinations. As well as coming up with now double battle strategies.

Mei sighs and rolls her eyes. "Don't remind me."

Haruka shoots her a confused glance. "Why? You won, why are you bummed about that?" Of course, Haruka didn't know the whole story behind that battle.

"You know that guy I battled in the last round?" Mei groans.

"Yeah, his name was Wes or something?" The battle didn't leave much of an impression on her, nor did Wes himself.

Mei nods, "He was that rebel that escaped the raid. We both ran into each other at the tournament."

Haruka's shocked, "Wait, so what happened? Did you capture him afterwards?"

Mei thinks of their accidental kiss and grows infuriated once more. "No, the rat bastard avoided me by weaving through the crowded and quickly getting in the elevator before I could reach him. I swear if I ever see him again I'll have his head!"

Haruka puts up her hands defensively and attempts to calm her down. "Whoa, Mei calm down. It's fine, you'll get your man don't worry."

Mei glares at Haruka, "I don't want him!" She shouts taking Haruka's words out of context.

Haruka's taken aback by this, "You just said you want his head. I know you've been obsessing about this guy."

Mei exhales and calms down. "Sorry, you're right. He just infuriates me."

"I noticed, and don't worry we'll stop him and the rest of those rebels." Haruka assures her. This at the very least is a comforting thought for Mei.

Though, what neither knew was at that very moment Wes and Ebony's plans were already in motion.

"So this is the factory?" Wes asks as the bike closes in on the broken down and condemned facility.

Ebony nods, "This is it. An old foundry that would melt down and refine the ores from the mines below. It was decommissioned when the veins underneath the facility ran dry. Since then it's been condemned. Lucky the freight elevator still works." Ebony certainly knew quite a bit about this place.

"Where did you learn about this place?" Wes didn't doubt her intel, but he couldn't help wonder how she knew so much.

"I did a favor for a man one time in exchange for this information. Let us leave it at that." She says with a sultry grin and a wink. Wes has a pretty good idea what that favor was now and he's glad she spared the finer details. Though, he should have known. This was how Ebony acquired a lot of her information.

"Alright, we'll approach quietly though, Cipher agents may be around." Wes was always quick to make assumptions and typically he assumed the worst.

Ebony chuckles lightly into her hand. "Your caution is admirable, but dear, not even squatters would use this place." She's honestly surprised Cipher never bothered to tear this place down for scrap or blow it up in another fake ploy to convince the populous the rebels were extremists.

Wes gets out of the motorcycle and gives Ebony a helping hand out of the sidecar, because she deemed it 'the gentleman's thing to do'. Though it wasn't hard to climb out on her own. It was just her personality so Wes entertains the notion. Much the same way he dealt with Cary's one track mind towards women.

Wes grabs the handle on the large steel door and opens it as it struggles to slide on its decrepit and rusted tracks. He grunts and groans as it creaks and scrapes across the tracks. "No wonder this place is abandoned. You'd need a Machamp to pry this door open." Wes fears he's going to throw out his back in the process. He finally gets it open and lets out an exasperated sigh.

Ebony walks up and nods approvingly. "I'm sure lucky to have a big, strong man like you to help me." She shoots him a sultry grin with an enchanting gleam in her eye as her fingers dance up his chest.

Wes rolls his eyes, immune to her flirtatious games, "Yeah, yeah." Whether she was serious or not, knowing her he banks on the latter, he wasn't interested in pursuing that kind of activity with Ebony. Wes was not the type to play games with a vixen like her.

She giggles and walks past him with a very intentional sway in her hips as she walks. Still Wes pays her little mind. If he's learned anything it's his comrades had their quirks. Thankfully, Takumi was nothing like Ebony and Cary.

Wes walks into the dark warehouse. He coughs as his throat fills with the dry, dust filled air. "This isn't Asbestos is it?" He coughs into his hand as he tries not to breathe the stale air around him.

"I don't believe so." Ebony says speaking into a kerchief as they make their way through the broken down structure. Finally coming upon a large freight elevator that looked pretty well intact. "Here it is," Wes and Ebony step in and hit the large, red down arrow button and cause the device to spring to life.

The door close with an uncomfortable grinding and slamming. The elevator's chain slowly screeches and squeaking. The uncomfortable cacophony of noise persists all the way down the shaft as they very slowly descend. After a couple minutes that dragged on for what felt like an eternity the elevator finally comes a literal screeching halt. The door then proceeds to open with the same annoying grinding sounds.

"Well that was pleasant. Can we take the front door next time?" Wes rubs his temples feeling a headache coming from that less that pleasant ride.

"Sadly not, now come on." Ebony steps out into a large chasm with a long tunnel directly in front of them. "We just need to walk down this tunnel for a bit then we'll be in The Under."

Before long they notice a light at the end of their tunnel. Bright, neon lights flickered showing signs of civilization. The Under was not a good place to live by any means. The lack of natural sunlight made for a very depressing environment as well as led to many health issues. It was also a hive of criminal activity of all kinds to boot.

Ebony is turns up her noses slightly. "Quite the unsavory place, The Under is." Not that she had much room to judge given their current living environment.

"Let's just get in and get out as fast as well can. This place makes my skin crawl." For good reason too, unsavory was a nice way to put it. Wes follows Ebony towards a small building with a rather colossal sized satellite dish on top of its flat roof. "Is this the place?" It was safe to bet hackers would be boasting some pretty state of the art equipment.

A young boy stands at the door with his arms crossed trying to look confident and empowering. Ebony chuckles to herself. "Allow me," she steps forward and makes her presence known to the boy. "Hello, are you with the Kids Grid? We wish to speak with you."

The kid gives her a sour look and turns his head away. "Go away, no adults allowed."

"Smooth," Wes smirks as he watches her work.

She glances at back at Wes. "Hush." She turns her attention back to the boy standing guard. "Please, this is a very important matter. We mean you no harm." She says more sweetly.

He shakes his head, "I said no. Now go away old lady!" He sticks his tongue out at her.

"Old lady?" Ebony smiles with a frustrated twitch in her eye and at the side of her mouth. The boy didn't not realize the powerful enemy he could make out of her just by insulting her vanity.

"Okay, I'll handle this." Wes steps between the boy and Ebony before she pounces on him. "Hey kid," Wes pulls out a Pokeball, "you like Pokémon battles?"

The kid looks to Wes with a gleam in his eye. "Now you're speaking my language mister. I know what you're playing at so fine. If you win I'll let you in."

Wes nods with a smug grin, "You got it." He calls out trusty Espeon. Wes imagines the kid can't be too strong, but he's not about to take him for granted.

"Go Shroomish." This was definitely not a good match up for the kid. "What's your name mister?"

"Name's Wes. That's Ebony. She's a bit touchy about her age." He gets a good laugh out of that before he feels an overwhelming sense of death fill the arena.

"What was that about my age?" She says with a menacing tone. Her sharp gold eyes glare at the two of them. Were they daggers both would be dead several times over.

"Scary," The boy cringes, "My name is Bitt."

Wes nods, "Good to know. Espeon use Psychic." Espeon leaps into the air and fires a bean of psychic energy at Shroomish from her head jewel.

"Shroomish scurry around!" Wes is surprised by the confusing command. Still Shroomish does that. Running back and forth aimlessly just to avoid the attack. A strategy that is pretty effective. "Now Spore!"

"Nice try, Espeon leap out of the way and use Psychic." Espeon tactfully dodges the spores that came right towards her and fires off a far more successful Psychic. Felling Bitt's Pokémon in a single turn.

"No! I can't believe I lost." Even though the fight lasted all of a minute. Wes didn't want to crush the kid's spirits however.

"That Shroomish has a lot potential. When it evolves into Breloom, I bet it'll be a real force to be reckoned with." He pats the kid on the shoulder.

"You think so?" Bitt asks with excitement in his eyes. He then quickly shakes his head and clears his throat. "I mean, of course it will. I know that. I'm the best trainer in The Under."

Wes smiles and rolls his eyes. "Well then I guess I'm lucky I caught you on an off day." He feeds the kid's ego a bit. He figures a little harmless buttering up with help them out a bit.

"Yeah that's it." He turns to the door and knocks three times before opening. "Hey Nett, Megg! We have visitors!" Bitt yells inside as he walks in.

Ebony taps Wes on the shoulder and smiles, "Very good job."

Wes nods, "Thanks, looks like your feminine wiles wouldn't work on these kids. So I can handle the talking."

The three walk into the small build where a young boy and little girl sit. The boy sits before a large computer and a series of screens as he types away furiously. The girl is the first to notice Wes and Ebony. She jumps up and points, "What are adults doing here?" She backs off and pulls out a Pokeball, clearly terrified of having to fight them.

Wes calmly pulls up his hands, "Don't worry, we're friendlies." He smiles softly to convey this point, hoping she'll relax.

The boy turns in his chair. "Friendly or not, why are you here?" The boy comes off a bit more mature for his age.

Wes speaks up for Ebony, "We're with the rebellion. We were hoping to ask your assistance." Wes in a way builds the boy up so he'd be more receptive to his offer. He knows it's key to negotiate from a position of power, but since they wanted them he figured pandering a bit might warm them up to his offer.

"Our assistance?" The boy smiles confidently. "Well you've got my attention. The name's Nett. Who are you?"

Wes nods, "My name's Wes, this is my associate Ebony. We're two of the rebellion's higher ranked members. We heard your hacking skills are top notch and we were hoping you'd join forces with us to help take on Cipher. You have the technical knowhow and we can offer you protection." A win-win offer for them both, Kids Grid can get the intel on Cipher and they can protect them.

Nett raises a brow. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't Cipher been spanking your little rebellion lately?" He of course refers to the brutal siege at the hands of Mei and Ryoko.

"They had information on us and acted before we could retaliate. If we had your help we could know what they knew ahead of time. I can handle their grunts."

Wes is suddenly interrupted by another boy walking in behind them. "Hey Nett, I got the new parts to the satellite hooked up."

Nett nods, "Thanks Perr. Hey, you wanna see what we can do first hand?" He flashes a grin to Wes and Ebony. Nett, all too proudly, cracks his knuckles and begins typing away at his computer. "Today we're going to do it, we're going to hit Cipher's database for all their records." Nett types furiously as a few screens pop up in front of him.

Suddenly, an alert springs on screen, "What's going on with your computer Haruka?" Mei's quick to notice a flashing, red exclamation point.

Haruka runs to her desk and begins to type frantically. "Dammit, someone's trying to hack out systems." Haruka quickly puts on an ear piece and answers a call. "Yeah Aiden, I'm already on it. You just make sure they don't get through to our database." Haruka calls up a few different programs, including one that likes like another computer interface and command line.

"What's going on?" Mei starts panicking.

"Hackers trying to get into our database and steal Cipher's encrypted data." Haruka explains at rapid speed.

"Um…?" Mei's speechless.

"It's like breaking and entering." She dumbs it down as much as possible.

"Oh okay," she's happy with this example. Still Mei's worried. "Are they hacking us or like getting in?"

Haruka smiles with an evil grin. "Not now they aren't." She hits a key and reclines back in her seat. "Yeah Aiden, their deep in the virtual database now. I'm running the tracking software now." She takes off her ear piece and turns to Mei.

"Alright we're in!" Nett celebrates, but maybe a bit too early.

"You see Mei, they were trying to break into our house as it were, but I pretty much switch what was on the other side of that door to a fake one. A database full of dummy information, malware, worms, and back door viruses. So they're computer is going to download a lot of corrupt data and viruses." Haruka was all too proud of this little scheme.

Mei nods, "Like that time Ryoko got a virus on his computer and you chewed him out for it?" Mei recalls Haruka being particularly pissed off at that one.

"Well that was because he was visiting unsafe adult websites like a dumbass." She rolls her eyes. It took her hours to restore his computer to usable shape after that one.

Nett throws up his arms triumphantly. "This is it, the big one. We've never had so much information on Cipher."

Wes cocks his head when Nett pulls up a file with one random agent's data. "I'm not an expert hacker or anything, but why did this work when all your previous attempts failed? It seemed too easy." Wes has always been a bit of a skeptic, but this seemed fishy regardless.

Perr pats himself on the back, "It was my upgrades."

Bitt nods, "Nett and Perr are an unstoppable team. I mean Nett's like the best hacker in all of Orre also."

"Or you in turn are being hacked." Ebony points to the screen which starts freezing up and glitching.

"And download." Haruka hits a key on the keyboard and pulls up a map pin pointing the computers location. Haruka cocks her head in confusion. "The attack came from The Under?" Haruka picks up the ear piece once more and calls up Lady Venus. "Yes Lady Venus? There was an attack on Cipher's database and I traced it back to The Under. May I please have access to your cameras so I can figure out who launched this breach?" Haruka starts typing away and nods, "Alright, thank you." With that Haruka had a full view of every camera in the city.

Cipher left The Under in Venus's hands, but she did little to actually encroach on their way of life. She was an idol to them, while still in secret their master. She had security cameras installs for 'protection' and to cut down on crime, but it was all a ruse to spy on their citizens.

Meanwhile Nett is panicking. "Oh no! They're going to track our location, they're going to steal all our data, and they're going to arrest us! How are we going to stop this?"

Wes being the only one of them to be thinking rationally. "Your computer's pretty much shot isn't it?" Nett woefully nods his head. "Then I'll stop them getting their hands on your data." He grabs the tower, rips the cords from the wall and powers it off. "There."

"They'll still confiscate it." Though it looks like Wes already had a plan for that too.

He steps out of the building and over to the deep chasm just beyond the building. "Good luck confiscating this." He hurls it into the rift.

He hears the sound of it bashing against several rocks on its way down before hearing a very distant crash as it hits the bottom of the chasm. "I think it's sufficiently destroyed." Ebony calls back to Wes from outside the door. "Quickly, come back inside."

Wes runs back to the building, not before a certain one spots him on the camera. Mei frantically points at the screen. "Haruka zoom in on that camera!" She hastily does so and reveals Mei's suspicions. "Wes that son of a bitch!" She slams her fist against the desk and quickly pulls out her radio. She changes the frequency and makes a distress call. "Attention all available agents in The Under this is an emergency request. All available agents surround the building with the large satellite immediately. Known hackers and rebels are being harbored inside." Mei hangs up and quickly readies herself. "Haruka can you have Abra teleport me to The Under?"

Haruka frowns, "You didn't have the authorization to make that call." She calls out Abra and willingly let's Mei go.

She sighs, "I'm willing to live with the consequences if it means capturing him." She teleports away and reappears in The Under. She meets up with several other agents who are gathering around.

"Are you the one who put out the call?" One of the agents asks.

Mei nods, "Yes, there are rebels and hackers in that building that just try to penetrate our database. We need to get them before they escape. One is known to be very allusive. Leave him to me." Now was Mei's time to score her personal vendetta.

Wes looks out the window and notices their unwelcomed company. "Dammit, Mei's here. We have to go now. You kids head for the abandoned tunnels north of here with Ebony and I'll hold them off."

Ebony speaks up, "Excuse you, I can help fend them off too. Actually, I'd prefer if I was the one to fight them off."

Wes is taken aback by this. "Are you sure, Mei's very strong."

"Of course, I doubt you'd be able to beat her, I'd at least be able to stall long enough." Ebony definitely seems confident in her abilities.

"What if you get caught?" Wes knew she was way more valuable to the rebels than he was. Ebony was far and away the better trainer, but she still couldn't take them all on at once.

"Don't worry about me. I have my ways." She winks and heads for the door. She walks head first into danger with her Pokeball drawn. She giggles, "All these men here for me? Is it my birthday?" Even in the face of danger she makes jokes.

Mei walks through the line of them. "We know what you did. So you all better come out peacefully." Mei stares her down with a deathly stare.

Ebony giggles, "So you're the little firebrand that's given our Wes so much trouble. I must say Cary wasn't lying about your finer qualities." Ebony scans her body up and down. She giggles and winks flirtatiously. "Are you going to punish me? I've been a _bad _girl."

Mei seems a bit irked by this. "God, you people are weird. Come peacefully or else." Mei more than happily calls out her own Pokémon. Starting with her Slowking.

Ebony smiles, "I'll take or else." She calls out her majestic Milotic to battle for her.

This was Wes's cue. He gathers the kids and makes a run for it behind Ebony's defense. "Go!" He rushes the kids ahead and calls out his Espeon to keep them covered.

Mei spots Wes immediately and attempts to give chase. To which Ebony's Milotic quickly intercepts. "You're not going anywhere dear. I'm your opponent and I want to play."

Mei growls as she watches Wes escaping yet again. "Psychic Slowking!" She practically spits fire. Ebony was not worried however.

"Milotic, you know what to do." Milotic serpentines and avoids the psychic attack. She quickly Ice Beams Slowking freezing him in place in the process. "Sorry dear, it's nothing personal."

Mei balls her fist and calls back her Pokémon. Instead of choosing a different Pokémon Mei breaks into a sprint and runs after Wes passed Ebony's Pokémon. Wes notices Mei running after him with hate in her eyes. "You're like four foot, ten! How the hell can you run so fast?" He picks up his speed, making sure not to get too far ahead of the boys. Wes notices Megg start to lag behind so he quickly scoops her up in his arms and runs while carrying her.

Still Mei was hot on their trail. They finally reach the tunnels. "Alright," he sets down Megg, "I want you all to run down that tunnel and keep going straight. I'll distract her by going down one of these other tunnel networks."

"But-" Bitt protests.

"Not buts!" Wes runs off with Mei hot on his heels. He shouts back to Mei, "You're pretty persistent. You ever think you need a hobby? Like knitting?"

"I do, it's called hunting down scumbags like you!" She shouts as she ducks and weavers down even narrow passage she chases him through.

"_That's an encouraging thought._" Wes grumbles to himself as he tries to lose her in the tunnels. He makes a hard left down another tunnel quickly ducks behind a rock. Mei comes charging past, missing him in the process. Wes quickly springs from behind the rock and runs in the other direction.

Mei hears his footsteps and quickly turns around. "Sneaky bastard!" She charges down the tunnel at double speed, not paying attention to where she's running. Suddenly, Mei stumbles over a jagged rock and loses her footing. With a sharp cry followed by a solid thud Mei hits the ground. On her way down she'd bashed her head against a protruding rock.

Wes stops dead in his tracks and notices her fallen body. "Oh no," he runs over to her to see she's unconscious. He quickly turns her on her back and checks her pulse and breathing. He breathes a sigh of relief. "She's still alive." He pauses and thinks long and hard about this situation. Why did he care? He would honestly be better off if that fall did kill her. As morbid as it sounded, it was the honest truth. Still Wes wasn't about to leave anyone for dead.

He carefully examines her wounds. She was bleeding from her head, so he checks her small backpack for medical supplies. Surprisingly she had everything he needed. "Gauze, rubbing alcohol, even aloe. This is an entire emergency medical kit. Not gonna lie, Cipher equips their grunts well." He takes a wash rag, pours some water from her canteen on it and wipes the blood from her head. He couldn't believe it, but she looked so peaceful when she was unconscious. It felt unnatural to him. He next takes the rubbing alcohol and disinfects the wound. He quickly tends to her wound and wraps her forehead in the gauze to stop the bleeding. He carefully props her head up on the bag and leaves her to rest and recover.

Before he does though, Wes has an idea. He takes her Pokeballs and holds down the tab on them. He planned to release all her Pokémon while she slept. Strangely enough, when he tried the balls didn't activate. He didn't know Cipher had finger scans on their Pokeballs to prevent such a thing. "Damn that's clever." He quickly catches on to this however.

Wes mulls over what to do. Restrain her, steal something from her, or just leave her be? A whole world of cruel possibilities open up to him, but nothing he could stomach to do to a defenseless woman. Even if this defenseless woman was his mortal enemy. Wes finally decides what he's going to do. He stands over her with grimace in his eyes and simply walks away. This could have been the end of it. Still, he thinks about what he'd told her. He was someone for her to pursue. Could it be he was wrong? She didn't need him to pursue, but he needed her to pursue him? Was the constant threat of Mei what was keeping him laser focused? Could it be that in some demented twist of fate the two were meant to live in unison on the opposite poles? In an endless battle of right versus wrong?

Wes shakes his head and begins runs off down the tunnel to reconvene with the Kids Grid. He'd wasted enough time already tending to Mei's wounds. As he runs he hears a soft moaning. He freezes, his blood runs cold, and he quietly looks back hoping he was just hearing things.

Mei slowly wakes up and Sits up. She winces at the throbbing pain in her head as she looks up with bleary eyes. "Wes?" She says softly, almost sweet sounding in her tired state.

He turns and refuses to look at her. "Don't follow me." He says toughly.

Mei replies weakly, "What do you mean?" She tried to sound angry, but she was too worn out from her crash and the head pains.

"Please don't get up. I don't want you hurting yourself anymore chasing me!" Wes shouts almost in tears and he couldn't explain it.

Mei's eyes wide and come into focus. She clutches her chest feeling something jolt inside. He was showing genuine compassion for her. His enemy. Her enemy all the same. Still Mei knew she couldn't chase him if she tried. Wes slowly walks away when Mei meekly replies. "Thank you."

Wes shakes his head and runs away from her without a word. She thanked him. His mind almost couldn't comprehend this. All of a sudden his mind was a torrent emotion. He'd shown sympathy to his enemy. He may be a nice guy deep down and a bit of humanitarian, but to activity make sure his enemy was okay just so she could pursue him another day was ludicrous.

He meets up with the rest of the group, Ebony included. "Took you long enough." She jokes and activates the elevator.

Wes remains silent for the rest of the ride to the surface. Lost deep in his own mind. Little did he know, Mei was doing much the same thing. She stares up at the rock ceiling as she musters the strength to get up and make sure she didn't collapse from a dizzy spell. Both knew one thing for certain. This wasn't over.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. So a lot happened in this chapter. Wes and Mei chapters are some of my favorites to write and this really goes to show that there is a lot happening in Orre at this moment. As well as the very complex relationship Wes and Mei have developed as enemies. I thought this would be a perfect example of the two's bizarre pseudo-codependent lives built on constantly fighting one another.


	12. Chapter 12: Dark Dissension

Chapter 12: Dark Dissension

The next morning in Phenac City. Mei has finally come to after a long night of sleeping off her injury. She groans and slowly sit herself up in bed. She looks around the infirmary and sighs. She lies back down on her bed with a thud and stares blankly at the ceiling. "_He got away again_." She whispers and clenches her fists. Wes escaped her grasp once more, but what's worse, he took pity on her and helped. She shouldn't be insult, because the alternative was death, but this still kicked her right in the pride. All because of a stupid misstep. If only she'd been paying better attention to her surroundings.

After a few minutes Haruka walks back in and sits down beside Mei. "Good, you're awake. You had me worried there for a while." She smiles warmly and pats her on the shoulder. "I take it things didn't go as planned?"

Mei frowns, "I was this close dammit. Wes got away again." She pounds the side of her bed and groans, wincing from her still healing wound.

Haruka shakes her head, "Still you coordinated that attack well. Even if they go away, we now have a lot more information on the rebels as well as the group called Kids Grid. We also got some points out of it. Ein was pleased I stopped the hackers and for better or worse and Lady Venus is grateful to us for helping oust the hackers."

Mei smiles slightly and nods at the small victory. "At least it wasn't a total waste. Unlike my pursuit of Wes."

Haruka looks concerned for Mei. "Dear, if you keep chasing him you'll only continue to get hurt. Next time it could be worse."

Mei scowls at Haruka, "You don't understand. Capturing him is my duty. I _have_ to be the one to do it"

Haruka grows even more concerned, this was becoming a borderline obsession. "Mei. What is Wes to you?"

"My mortal enemy." She says without hesitation.

Haruka's eyes widen, "What about the other rebels?"

"Obstacles preventing me from getting him." She is steadfast in her pursuit. It was definitely more than a little obsessive.

Haruka shakes her head, "Be careful dear." She stands up and shows herself out. She calls out her Abra and has him quickly teleport her back to her room where Haruka hopes to resume her work.

She knows it's going to be another normal day so she had nothing really crucial she needed to worry about. She spends the morning working on her various pet projects uneventfully and takes a lunch break. When she returns she hears an odd ring. She opens her drawer to see the walkie she took from the Snagem spies ringing. She picks it up and holds down the button. "So now you want to talk?" She sits down and crosses one leg over the other, amused by this little game she was playing with Gonzap.

"Are you alone?" Gonzap asks.

Haruka locks her door and answers, "Yes, no one knows a thing. So tell me what you were hoping to accomplish the other day?"

"I wish to me with you personally before I reveal my master plan. I am a private man, you see." He says smoothly which irks Haruka, but she plays along.

"Fair enough, I'll bite. Where will we meet?" Haruka knows he's up to something and she's not afraid to assume he's got traps and contingency plans all worked out in case she does try to stab him in the back.

"The base in Eclo Canyon. You will ride up to the front doors and my men will escort you in. You will obviously come alone and make sure no one is suspicious of your whereabouts." Gonzap made sure to take every precaution.

Haruka sighs, "Fine, I'll play your games, but I warn you. This better be worth my time." Haruka puts the walkie back in her drawer and heads out of her room. She makes her way casually down the hall passing agents on her way to the garage. She knew she'd need a good excuse to take out one of the trucks and an impromptu trip to the Eclo Canyon base, a decommissioned facility exclusively used by Snagem, was not a good one. Though if she told them she was heading to Phenac, the Key Lair, or the Realgam Tower they'll want a reason and ask she checks in when she arrives. Her safest bet was to lie and say she was going to Gateon Port for parts, but that was clear on the other side of Orre and if she decided to come back emptyhanded they'll be suspicious. Still, Haruka thinks she can make this work.

She makes her way into the garage where an agents sits lazily reading a magazine by a key rack. Haruka clears her throat to get his attention. He quickly shapes up, "Oh hey Haruka, didn't see you there." He tries to recover smoothly.

She chuckles and looks at his magazine. "Too busy checking out hot rods, Tucker?" Naturally the man in charge of the garage was a car enthusiast. He and Chase had a lot in common in that regard.

"So what can I do you for?" He puts down the magazine and pulls out a tablet as he pulls up a list of available vehicles.

"I've got some parts on order in Gateon Port. I need to pick them up so I was hoping for a truck to haul them here." She sells him on the lie pretty easily. Nothing too detailed or too complex. Plus, he had no reason not to trust Haruka.

He types out her name and grabs a key. "Alright, sign here and she's all yours." Haruka does just that and he hands it off to her. "Perfect, it's number four thirty two. She's got a full tank so you don't need to worry about fueling up there and back."

Haruka smiles, "Thanks Tucker, now I'll leave you to your centerfold models." She chuckles and hands him the full page spread of a new, luxury model car.

Even as she approaches the car Haruka carefully thinks of all her options. The vehicles weren't equipped with onboard tracking, but they did have GPS if needed. Still, they had odometers so she needed to make sure the number of miles matched up. Which meant driving in circles, taking every long route, and generally extending her trip as much as possible. She had the amount of miles it took to Gateon pretty much memorized after all the times she's had to drive there so she knew she'd need to drive aimlessly for quite a while just to match the time and distance it would take to get to Gateon Port.

She finds her vehicle, one of the nicer trucks admittedly. Tucker and Haruka were friends so he usually hooked her up with the nicer trucks. While looking more or less identical to all the other doorless, roofless trucks in the garage, this was considerably newer and sported a much nicer engine.

She climbs in and heads out into the desert. Another benefit of this newer model, working AC. Haruka breathes a sigh of relief to have working air conditioning in the truck, because the hot, dry desert air wasn't very cooling even at high speeds. She makes it to Eclo Canyon is quickly and quietly, making sure no one else saw her going in or out. Gonzap was a private man, but Haruka knew just to be careful in these types of situations.

She navigates through the natural labyrinth of the canyon towards a small outpost tucked away in the center with little visibility from the outside. She rides up and is met with a few guards standing around the perimeter.

"Halt, what business do you have with Team Snagem?" The first agent stops her and carefully watches her as she steps out of the vehicle.

"I've got a meeting with Gonzap, so let me in." She did not have time to deal with these games. She's ready to see Gonzap and see if this deal is worth her while.

"No one sees Mr. Gonzap without an appointment." He stands firmly.

Haruka rolls her eyes, "Call him up. I have a damn appointment." She couldn't believe that he didn't at least warn his cronies that she was arriving.

The man looks at her skeptically and calls up Gonzap. After consulting with him for a couple moments he turns back to Haruka. "Mr. Gonzap informed me that he was expecting you Ms. Haruka."

"No kidding." She walks past him and waits as the automatic doors slide open. The interior was nothing impressive, it wasn't as state of the art and Cipher's current facilities like Phenac or the lab, but still it was passable. It did look like they'd gotten their hands on some pretty nice hardware Haruka was interested in.

She navigates the building as agents give her the occasional passing glance as she makes her way to the top floor. Most Snagem agents look like mere thugs compared to the clean and coordinated uniforms of Cipher agents. They were considered the little sister for a reason. Most of Cipher's hand me downs went to Snagem and they saw small profit margins and funding from Cipher. They were formed more or less as a shell to make waves and create controversy so Cipher didn't take all the bad press.

Cipher learned early on controlling the media only stopped the circulation of bad press, but the rumor mill still turned and people resort more often than not to word of mouth. So Snagem was created to be the fall group. They staked their entire operation on creating controversy and making Cipher look better by comparison. Still, only the higher ups know Snagem as a subsidiary of Cipher. Most treat it as a nuisance more than anything. Their equipment was Cipher scraps, their Shadow Pokémon of inferior breed, and their men not nearly as well trained.

Haruka finally makes it to Gonzap's office. "Good, Haruka, you've arrived. I trust no one knows you're here?"

She nods, "I'm not an amateur. Now let's cut to the chase." She's being rather short with him and for good reason.

He laughs, "Straight to business. I like that. You're a very ambitious young woman. I like that. More agents should be like you."

"Flattery will get you nowhere." This was already feeling like a waste of time.

"Then let me get right to the chase. I am looking for some new agents. Someone who has intelligence and skills. You fit the bill perfectly." He still attempts to butter her up.

"Yeah, unless you can offer me even a fraction of what Cipher does I think this conversation is over." Haruka turns around.

"Wait, don't go yet. I haven't offered you my proposal. I want you as my right hand. You know how Cipher runs inside and out. Aren't you sick and tired of these games and constant bureaucracy? We could have conquered Orre years ago had it not been for the admins dragging their feet." Gonzap has always been an ambitious man and a true man of conviction. Still his eyes were blind to reality Haruka thinks.

"We both know it's not that simple. Waging an all-out war would draw too much attention. Trainers from all over the world would be taking jabs at us witling down our organization. Cipher's got an in with the Orre government, so any attack on us is strictly outlawed especially by foreign entities." Haruka knew the ins and outs of the system like the back of her hand. If anyone tried attacking Cipher they'd be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Gonzap smiles wickedly, "This is exactly why I need a woman like you by my side Haruka. A woman with your genius has the power to shake the establishment to its core and bring an end to the less qualified admins. Miror B. is a fool. Lady Venus, a diva and nothing more. Ein, a man so stuck in his own research that he's blind to the matters going on around him."

Now Haruka took exception to this, "Ein works harder than anyone I know, his research in Shadow Pokémon has turned Cipher into the powerhouse we are. Besides, I doubt even you could stand up to the admins, let alone Nascour, Greevil, and Es Cade." Gonzap was a strong trainer which made him perfect for the job as head of Snagem, but that's about it.

"Now, I see nothing wrong with Nascour. He is a strong man with the right mindset, I'm sure if we showed him our strength he'd be swayed. I also have much respect for Snattle. A man so closely tied to the government to really set the winds of change into motion. As for our strength. My men and I have been drafting up a radical idea that would truly make Cipher the greatest force in this world. Permanent Shadow Pokémon."

He hands Haruka his beginning drafts. She scans it for a matter of seconds and toss it on his desk. "Impossible, your plans are all wrong. Cipher has run over a thousand configurations and this is only half as advanced as our protocols." She found it almost humorous that he would think this would impress her.

He chuckles, "Tell me Haruka, I want to know. Do you know the origins of Shadow Pokémon?"

She nods, "Legends say that three thousand years ago a king created a deadly super weapon. It fed off the life force of Pokémon and was used to put an end to a great war. Claiming countless lives in the process. His plan was a total success, but the machine with its excess of energy backfire unleashing a colossal beam into space and broke down. It was later buried, but some believe it was salvaged and its parts are being used even today. That's all heresy though. The real take away was the source of the ultimate weapon's power. A legendary Pokémon some say. A powerful Pokémon that had a dark aura and the power of oblivion itself. It's said to lay dormant now, but its excess darkness infected one such Pokémon. It turned the Pokémon into a ruthless, fighting machine. Rot with anger and hatred it travelled the world for millennia eventually settling in Orre roughly one thousand years ago. Discovered by the natives. This tied into another more popular urban legend."

Gonzap smiles, "The Children of Orre."

Haruka nods, "The Aura Seers saw the darkness surrounding the Pokémon and called it a dark shadow eclipsing the Pokémon's heart. A Shadow Pokémon. It drew the ire of every one of the native desert dwellers and eventually retreated into what is now Mt. Battle. Decades ago that same Shadow Pokémon was discovered by Master Greevil. He used his dark aura as a way to naturally enhance a Pokémon's innate abilities. He did much research thanks to a few key researches back in the day. One of them, Ein." This now goes to explain Ein's role in Cipher's rise to the top.

"And from there the first breed of Cipher Shadow Pokémon were born. We all know this. The rest is history. You're very well informed. Exceptionally well informed. Tell me, are a Child of Orre?" Natives to Orre were innate Aura Seers.

Haruka shakes her head, "No I'm a mutt like ninety percent of the population. I'm orphaned, but I'm pretty sure my father was from Unova."

He cocks his head, "Really? Strange and yet you have an Orrean name." Orrean being a dead term for names derived from native Orre civilization. Haruka, Ryoko, and Mei all had names derived from Orrean etymology.

"I don't know why my mother named me this. I was taken in by Cipher pretty much the day I was born." She didn't know how this turned into a conversation about her.

"Anyway, aside from the entice proposition to be my right hand, I'm sure you're wonder what's in it for you? The answer is simple. Power. You will be given the authority you deserve. You are one of Cipher's elites and yet you're still nothing more than a research officer. You could and should be so much more." Now Gonzap was speaking her language.

"Go on," he had her attention now.

"Your boyfriend will be easy enough to sway if you join me. As well as your friend Mei. You three would be my agents taking down Cipher from the inside. Gathering insider intel for us while we slow plan our moves and takeover Cipher from the inside." It was definitely a well thought out plan. Gonzap did his research on Haruka for sure. Which makes Haruka wonder if this wasn't all his plan from the start.

"You're talking about a coup d'état. It's risky and we'd have to take it slow. You can't just take over Cipher facilities like they were territories. You attack one base, you attack them all." Haruka knew all the risks associate with a plan like that.

Gonzap nods, "We're slowly, but steady growing out numbers. Soon we'll have the information and man power we need to get out from under Cipher's thumb. No more will Snagem be the butt of everyone's jokes. We will show them that we are the strongest." His resolve was certainly spirited enough.

Haruka finally, after much thought, nods. "Fine, you've convinced me to at least see where this is going. We can't expect immediate results, but this is a very high risk, high reward situation I'm willing to gamble on." Haruka extends a hand to Gonzap.

He smiles proudly and shakes her hand, "Thank you, Haruka. You will not regret this."

She nods, "I believe that." She looks in his office, "Now I want that and that." She points to two large machines. Gonzap looks confused. "Sorry, I told them I was heading to Gateon Port to pick up parts. So I need to sell it. Have your men load it into my truck. We can consider this my signing bonus."

Gonzap laughs, "A natural leader. Very well, I can't say we were getting much use out of them anyway." He calls in his men to lift the machines out of his office. "Now for my cut. I require complete floor plans of the research lab. I'm sure for you getting this will be no trouble."

Haruka looks nervous, "No, but it'll be risky." Still she does not want to cave so easily. "Don't worry, I'll get them to you."

Gonzap smiles, "I knew I'd made the right choice." He sees Haruka off as she gets her supplies.

The whole way back Haruka thinks about this deal she'd just made. Setting into motion a plan to systematically betray and weaken Cipher from the inside. Assuming the role of a double agent. This was a lot to take in and she hopes she does this without getting caught. She can only imagine how Mei and Ryoko would react.

Speaking of, Haruka suddenly gets a call from Ryoko. She eagerly answers as she drives. "Hello dear, I was waiting for you to call." She pauses while Ryoko talks. "What do you mean the mission was a bust?" She panics and stops the truck. She listens closely. She feels her heart sink like a stone. "The data wasn't there? What will you do next?" Ryoko tells her the next course of action and how he'll be gone a bit longer. She nods solemnly, "Okay, I understand dear. I love you." She hangs up as a tear rolls down her cheek. Being away from Ryoko for so long and dealing with all the other ordeals she's going through is finally starting to take its toll on her mind.

Still Haruka powers through, she was not the kind of woman to cave so easily. She was strong, resourceful, and intelligent. She could do anything she truly set her mind towards. The role of a leader was not something she stumbled upon. It's her birthright and her destiny. The winds of change are in motion and she's at the forefront of this revolution.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well quite a bit happened in this chapter. I felt up to this point Haruka was being pretty underutilized so I thought this would be a perfect way to fix this. A lot of different things are all happening at once which was one of my intentions when I started this series. Meaning there will be a lot of longevity out of it.


	13. Chapter 13: Darkened Chances

Chapter 13: Darkened Chances

Night falls over Celadon City. Ryoko and Mika make their final arrangements and ready themselves. Their covers were set. As far as anyone knew, they were just two members of the cleaning crew. Mika made sure to go through all the proper channels and set up their cover IDs. Everything was air tight and ready to go.

Ryoko had already told Mary he was leaving and slipped back into town under the cover of night. The two are all set. Leaving the center in the morning and ducking out into a small, abandoned building as they waited out the day. To say Mika was thorough is an understatement. She was a professional in every meaning of the word. No one will possibly suspect them.

They head out to the Game Corner, taking the backroads and entering with the rest of the evening's cleaning crew. The security guard waves them in and checks their verification. The rest of the crew walk around to their various assigned places. No one really knows anyone for that matter, each was just given a task and all they had to do was make sure it was completed. Mika thankfully greased some hands and got the position of taking out trash and mopping the back rooms with Ryoko.

For the past couple days she'd been working this job, subtly planting supplies and casing the building's security. At this point she knew every inch of the building that was relevant so it was go time. Now or never. Ryoko silently follows Mika into the janitor's closet and retrieves their cart. Most others head off to clean up the front leaving the two of them to their own devices. Everything important was monitored or locked up tight.

They grab the cart and make their way into one of the rooms that wasn't surveilled. It made sense to cut down on costs by not installing cameras in rooms that weren't used for anything other than cleaning supplies or toilettes. Mika reaches into the empty garbage can on the cart and pulls a small laptop and cord.

"Alright, our target is that room there." She whispers and points to a locked room across the hall. "Start moping the floor and while you do that I'll start hacking into the security camera." She needed to make it seem like they were busy while she tapped into the security feed.

Ryoko grabs a mop and starts making his way down the hall with the cart. Mopping away at the floor, looking completely normal as one would expect. Meanwhile, Mika walks up under the camera, carefully avoid its line of sight. From its blind spot she plugs into the camera. She types away at the laptop until she gets direct access to the feed. She motions to Ryoko, who finished up the mopping and grabs the cart. From the camera's perspective he left its line of sight and left the room. Once out of frame Mika splices the footage and loops the same scene of the now empty hallway.

She confirms the job is done by having Ryoko make another pass down the hall and watching the feed. Sure enough, it's like the hallway was really empty. She gathers up a few more things out of the trash can and heads for the door. The door was nothing advanced. All she needed was a simple lock pick set. In under a minute she's able to pick the lock and get them in. Mika and Ryoko both keeping a close eye on the hall as they do so before slipping in. Closing and locking the door behind them as they step inside the computer room.

Once inside Mika pulls out a few items from her bag. A similar computer to the one she used to hack the security camera and a flash drive. She sidles over to the security camera on the wall and quickly does a similar trick as she'd done before. Making sure they didn't show up on the feed as well as deleting the first few seconds of the light coming in from when they opened the door. All the security almost seemed superfluous for a room housing information no longer relevant to anyone. Still they were not going to be taking any risks. Mika didn't get where she was today by being lazy and lax.

She runs over to the computer and quickly puts on some gloves as she types away and plugs in a small flash drive. Ryoko walks over while she types furiously on the keyboard. "You remind me of Haruka." He smirks and stands beside her looking at the large monitor on the wall. A seemingly incoherent and random string of commands prompt on screen with Mika triggering various commands.

"Where do you think she learned it?" Haruka was a natural, but even she had a teacher. When Ein wasn't showing her to the ropes in the lab, Mika was helping refine Haruka's hacking skills. Something she's now honed and perfected. She digs deep into their documentation. Finding reports and studies conducted by Team Rocket. Mika comments on a few key pieces of information. "Interesting, though not entirely surprising. Looks like Team Rocket managed to acquire a strand of Mew's DNA. Though looks like it was the basis for creating Mewtwo. Sort of the cornerstone to the rest of his genetic structure." They are finding a lot out, but not nearly what they were hoping for on the surface.

"What is the status of Mew anyway? If Mew is still in the wild then we can very easily just refocus on finding Mew." Ryoko suggests.

Mika shakes her head, "Finding a wild legendary Pokémon would be way more difficult. Although, it looks like Mew was caught. There is no confirmed witness, but it looks like this kid here has Mew." On screen a picture of a young boy with messy raven hair, a red and white hair and matching jacket flashes on screen. "Says here he's the former Kanto League Champion. His name is Red. Bit of a recluse so I doubt we'd be able to find him. Known associates are few outside of old friends in the league. Looks like Rocket did a lot of digging on him." She digs deeper into his file. "Oh he's from Pallet Town, must have been somewhat close with Giovanni so this is all firsthand information. Father, Noland of the Hoenn Battle Frontier. They're pretty strong trainers." She looks over her shoulder at Ryoko, whom looks up in shock.

"Sister, Tia?" He asks himself.

Mika looks confused and pulls up her file. "Yeah, the family resemble is definitely there. What's so special about her?"

Ryoko slams his hand on the desk. "Why does every damn road somehow lead back to her?" He shouts in frustration. "She was they when Mewtwo attacked Cinnabar, there when we tried stealing the Red Gyarados. Her closest friends are the World Champion, his girlfriend, and his best friend Erika. All legendary Pokémon holders. And now, you're telling me her own brother is one too?" Ryoko could only imagine how many ties to powerful trainers Tia had, that frankly only scratched the tip of the iceberg.

"So she keep powerful company. What does that have to do with us?" Mika felt little reason to worry about one girl. Though one individual with powerful allies is a bit troublesome for their goals if they should ever meet.

He shakes his head, "Never mind, I'm probably just worrying about nothing. It's not like she'd go out of her way to try and take down Cipher the same way she did with Team Rocket."

Mika perks her head up, "No wonder she's gotten such special attention. So she was a linchpin in their undoing?" This was news to Mika since so much of their information was surprisingly kept out of the papers. She remember reading about Tia in a paper reporting on how she'd helped take back the Goldenrod Radio Tower with help from the city's gym leader. Which does incline Mika to dig even deeper. "You mentioned legendary Pokémon trainers. Check this out." She pulls up the file of a young, blonde woman. "This is the current gym leader of Goldenrod City. Her name's Anna. The kicker; she has Regigigas."

Ryoko shakes his head, "I don't know how, but this Tia is an actual threat to us with all these powerful allies. If we run into her we'll have to abort the mission immediately." Though there is obviously a more pressing concern at the moment. "Anyway, where's the data on Mewtwo?"

Mika scrolls through more lists of documents and folders before finding some interesting documents. "Interesting, backup data of journals made by a Mr. Fuji." She opens the first log, a video.

"Day one, we can't believe it. This is the find of the century! We've found a strain of Mew's DNA!" An older man with a long, grey beard speaks to a camera. "We, at Giovanni's request are beginning or research into cloning technology. Team Rocket, if we succeed can possible make claim to the greatest scientific finding of all time. Cipher's Shadow Pokémon will have nothing on our cloning technology." The first video ends.

"A science war back then and now. We always had the slight edge, but glad they were still thinking of us." Mika jokes and plays a later video.

"Day one hundred, we've done it. Mewtwo is well underway and into development. The clone body is stable so far. Giovanni has given us the go ahead to run a few more experiments. Blaine has been a tremendous help and we're ready to try our next step in the process. Creating Pokémon from other Pokémon. As well as, the forbid taboo. Giovanni knows I'll do anything to have my precious, little Amber back. I told him there was a chance we could do the same for his wife, but he said the mere thought made him sick to his stomach. His loss I suppose." The feed ends once more.

"Whoa did that guy just say he was going to clone his dead daughter?" Ryoko gets chills up his spine thinking about that.

Mika shakes her head, "Poor man," she plays another document.

"Day one hundred and twenty two." He pauses and shakes his head. "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit all to hell!" He flips his desk and throws documents, beakers, and test tube all around him. He finally settles down and looks back at the camera. "The cloning process, it was touch and go for a while as I'd stated previously. I thought we'd worked out all the quirks." He puts his head into his hands and starts crying. "We were wrong. Oh so wrong. Amber, I've endured the pain of losing you twice now. My heart can't bear it." He shakes his head and tries desperately to regain his sense, "The cloned Charmander, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and …" He couldn't bring himself to say it. "We couldn't fully stabilize their genetic sequences. The clone bodies did not survive. It's at this point I am now going to resign from my position and hand the reins off to my colleague Blaine. Mewtwo is still developing nicely. Our original goal is still well on its way to completion, but unfortunately I will never see the end result of all our hard work." He signs off for the final time.

Both Mika and Ryoko get chills watching that. "Dear lord, I can only imagine how he felt losing her all over again." Mika quickly digs into his record. She nods solemnly, "Yeah that sounds about right." She doesn't say it out loud, but a small block reads the date, two days after his last log and the word suicide.

Mika closes the document and quietly continues. Though things are not looking up for them. She searches deeper and deeper. Unlocking a treasure trove of Team Rocket's secrets, but nothing relevant anymore or in any way related to Mewtwo's data. "Damn, this is what I was afraid of." She finally concedes, the data simply wasn't there.

Ryoko pretty much knows what this means. "No luck? I guess we're going back to the drawing board." He's definitely disappointed, but to say he's surprised is another thing. It was a long shot from the start, but at least they know more now than they did going in. Team Rocket has other decommissioned bases in Kanto and Johto. Odds are with the reconstruction of the Silph Co. building all their data gathered by Team Rocket was purged from their records. Not like going to Saffron City was a real option anyway.

They gather up everything and quickly cover their tracks. Mika making sure to grab the laptop attached to the camera as they slip out. She quickly dumps everything in the trash can once more and make their ways to the back dumpster. The two quickly grab their equipment out of the bag and dump their uniforms and changing back into normal street clothes.

Ryoko decides to call up Haruka, "Hey, I'm sorry Haruka, but the mission was a bust." He says solemnly, knowing what this means for him in terms of whether he'll be returning soon or not. "The data wasn't there." He goes on to explain. "We don't know what to do at this very second, but we'll most likely continue searching Kanto for more leads. I'm sorry." He says his goodbyes and hangs up soberly.

Mika speaks up, "We actually have another possible lead."

"Cinnabar Island?" Ryoko feels going straight to the source would be the best solution.

Mika shakes her head, "No, Fuchsia City. If anyone could lead up in the right direction it'd be Koga." This was definitely a gamble. One, would he even bother helping them? Two, was he even there?

"But he flew the coop when he was beaten. What makes you think he'd be there?" Ryoko understood that criminals often return to the scene of the crime, but Koga had no reason to return with Team Rocket disbanded.

Mika explains, "Fuchsia is Koga's home. If anyone could find a way to hide there, it'd be Koga. He is a ninja after all. So it's not unlikely he's there. Also, since I'm sure you're wondering. Going straight to Cinnabar is too risky. What would we do if we actually encountered Mewtwo? We'd be annihilated and our cover would be blown. Don't you think Blaine would do everything in his power to assure that data is never falls into the wrong hands? Let alone see the light of day?"

She's right and Ryoko knows it. This is a lot harder that he'd initially hoped, but this, in a way, is to be expected. Getting a legendary Pokémon through normal means was difficult enough, but to steal the data of an artificial one is proving to be even more difficult.

The two sent up camp and finally get a chance to relax. "Enjoy it while you can, this is one of those rare times we can rest and not have to worry about cover IDs." Mika assures him.

"What made you choose this life?" Ryoko wanted to know what let Mika to becoming a spy for Cipher.

She shakes her head, "Honestly, this life chose me. I was one of Cipher's top field agents back when I was your age. Good enough for Es Cade to notice. I was sent on a mission to Pyrite to do some digging on a group who was trying to stop Cipher. After successfully infiltrating and getting all their intelligence, I turned them over to Cipher. From there I was permanently assigned to the position of Cipher spy. I was already an expert hacker. So I was put through intense training by Cipher's top spy at the time." She pauses and smiles softly, "We got married long after that."

Ryoko smiles and gives a nod, "That's nice. Do you ever miss being around him when you are on missions?" Ryoko would definitely say he's missing Haruka at this very second.

She nods, "I do, but we've gotten used to it. I'm guessing you really miss Haruka at this point." She knew, it was all over his face.

Ryoko chuckles, "I'm sure I can't even begin to hide that. I'm definitely not cut out to be a spy. I'm a Snagger through and through. "

Mika respects that, "Good to know you know your place in Cipher. I heard you're good at what you do. So it suits you well. You're also very bold from what I've heard. Coming up with an idea like this definitely takes a lot of confidence."

Ryoko smiles, "Thanks, but really I doubt I would have been able to do any of this without your help Mika." His plan would have definitely been more reckless and libel to get him caught. So Mika's meticulous attention to detail and planning are paying off in spades.

"I'm happy to help. This will be a huge boost for both of us." She looks up at the night sky and lies down. "Well we need rest. We'll leave in the morning and we should make it to Fuchsia by noon." The two quickly fall asleep to recuperate for tomorrow's new mission. Finding Koga.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. This was a shorter chapter, but I felt it was necessary to explain a lot of the backstory of how Mewtwo came to be in the Sagas Universe. Anyone who's seen the Mewtwo short knows this is similar to the Anime. Fuji tried cloning his daughter along side Mewtwo, but ultimately failed. Though, that focused primarily on Mewtwo's mind while it occurred. Still, from the beginning I planned on this mission taking a while and it's not done yet.


	14. Halloween Special

Halloween Special: A Pokemon Fright

Today, on this all Hallows' Eve in Orre excitement fills the air. Still midafternoon as childrens' urges for candy grow. In Phenac City, Cipher celebrates in style. Halloween décor lines every building in the city. A time for trick-or-treaters to take the streets and get as much candy as they can.

It would come as a surprise that Cipher of all people would celebrate the holiday as much as they do. Some say it's to save face, others say it's to lure children to Cipher's cause, but the plain and simple truth is that Cipher just likes Halloween. Many of the admins enjoy celebrating it as do the agents underneath them. At the end of the day it was a time to just unwind and relax for a day. They saw no harm in it.

Three in particular are celebrating in style. Ryoko, Haruka, and Mei are busy decorating the main base in preparation for the trick-or-treaters. Mei and Haruka had gone all out. Haruka sporting a flowing, purple dress with pink trim on the bottom, three gems around the collar, and large, purple, wide brimmed witches hat. While Haruka wears a brown dress going all the way to her ankles with brown fluff on the lower part of her back. The sleeves go down her arms with cream colors fluff around her wrists. Finishing off the outfit with a pair of long brown and cream colored ears attached to a headband in her hair.

Ryoko was not big on costumes so he has a simple head piece in. A black head piece with a rounded blade sticking out the right side, liken to that of an Absol. He was busy up a ladder securing a string holding up a mobile of Zubat and Golbat. As well as hanging some faux Spinarak webs. He steps down and looks up fondly at his work. Haruka quickly walks up behind him and wraps her arms around his waist from behind. She nuzzles her cheek against his back. "I'm glad you're here for Halloween." She says sweetly as she holds him.

Ryoko smiles and turns in her arms. Putting his own around her and leaning in for a kiss. "Same here, you know I wouldn't miss it. I'm glad I could be here." He looks at her costume, "So what's your costume anyway?"

Haruka giggles and rolls her eyes, "Come on, it's obviously." She breaks from his arms and does a twirl. "I'm Mismagius."

Mei speaks up excitedly, "And I'm Lopunny!" She poses like one to emphasize her point.

Ryoko laughs, "You two sure love going all out."

The two nod, "Of course, but you could have put in more of an effort than just an Absol head blade." Mei pouts as she continues decorating.

Ryoko shrugs, "I couldn't think of any good ideas. Plus, it's never been my thing. I'm glad you too are getting into the spirit of it."

"Alright, décor, check. Candy, check. Costumes, check. Now we just need to wait for the trick-or-treaters and then the annual Cipher Halloween party." When they were done giving out candy there was always a party to follow for all the adults.

Like clockwork the doorbell rings and Haruka eagerly grabs the bowl. She opens the door to a surprising sight. Three people stand at the door, two in costume. "Trick or treat." A young, dark skinned woman wearing a green wig and a green and white dress with very low cut top exposing an ample amount of cleavage. Next to her are two young men similar in age to her. One in a Snorlax costume and one without a costume, standing uncomfortably to the side.

"Yeah, we want some candy or we'll teepee your house." Cary in the Snorlax costume cuts in.

"Why are we here?" While Wes shakes in head in utter confusion.

Haruka smiles, "What detailed costumes." She puts a couple pieces of candy in their bags.

Cary examines his candy. "Fun Sized?" He whines. "Oh we are so Egg Bombing your house." He holds up a Pokeball with a mischievous smile.

Ebony lowers his arm, "Now Cary, we shouldn't complain about free candy."

As they stand outside the door, Mei passes by. She spots the trick-or-treaters and shouts, "Rebels! What the hell are the rebels doing here?" She runs over and practically pounces on Wes.

He dodges her and ducks behind Cary, "Hey this was their idea! Why did we have to come here anyway Ebony?" He was now greatly regretting listening to these two. He wasn't even interesting in trick or treating.

"It's Halloween, can we not set aside our differences and be friends just today?" Ebony says with her usual enticing, dulcid tone of voice.

Haruka nods, "Yeah Mei, we're all friends here."

She stares slack jawed. "We're enemies! They threaten our very way of life!" She begins ranting and raving. Until Ryoko takes her by the arm and pulls her back inside.

"I'm sorry about her behavior. So what is your costume?" Ryoko recognized Snorlax immediately so he addresses Ebony. Getting a quick glance at her less than modest top. Haruka senses he looked and stamped on his foot. He winces in pain, but keeps a strong face.

Ebony smiles and looks to Haruka, "Why isn't it obvious? I'm a Sexy Gardevior." She poses with a catty grin to Haruka.

Ryoko nods, "Wow, I think the Internet has a new favorite character." Haruka once more stamps his foot. He grits his teeth and bares a forced smile, "Still I love Haruka's costume." He tries to recover.

Ebony gives her a once over, "Yes it is quite," she glances at Haruka's chest, "modest." She keeps feeding the fire.

"Eb, let's get out of here, before they _do_ capture us." Wes felt the tension in the air growing and she certainly wasn't help the matter.

"Yeah, I want more candy. You said we'd be goin to check out that haunted house outside of town." The catches a lot of attention.

"Haunted House?" Mei, Ryoko, and Haruka all say in unison.

Ebony nods and leads points to the South Western end of the city. "It's a huge haunted house with all matters of frightful things."

"And I heard they give out King Sized candy bars." Cary boasts.

"King Sized? Ryoko, we can't compete with that." Haruka panics.

Ryoko tilts his head in confusion. "Why, we could have bought King Sized candy bars, but you said no."

"We should all go check it out." Haruka decides excitedly.

Ebony nods, "Yes that does sound quite exciting."

Cary shrugs, "Okay, but don't complain if you get scared and run off crying."

Both Wes and Mei look in shock. "That's a horrible idea!" The two shout. They acknowledge that they both agreed and turned up their noses to each other.

"I'm not going anywhere with her." He points to Mei with disgust.

"Same goes double for me." She swats his hand away.

The group could care less as Cary, Ebony, Haruka, and Ryoko walk out of town. Reluctantly the two chase after their friends and comrades. Sure enough, there was a larger than life, haunted house outside. The sun was still on the horizon and sinking fast, but when they glance upon the house it's noticeably dark and cloudy as it sits perched atop a steep hill. A strike of lightning, clap of thunder, and what sounded like haunting organ music occur when they gaze upon the haunted manor.

"Wow, how have we never noticed that before?" Ryoko's a bit perplexed, but all the more excited to check it out.

"Okay, I'm stopping this crazy train right here!" Mei steps in front of all of them and stretched out her arms. "Why are we checking out a creepy, haunted house with _our enemies_?" she was not letting this point go. As if she didn't realize this was a Halloween Special and she should just roll with it. Mei looks to the sky. "Wait who said that?" Oh great, now the poor thing is delusional. Hearing voices that are clearly not there. "Tauros crap! I know you're there. Wait are you the narrator?" She spouts off nonsense about a narrator, as if their actions were predetermined effects of a chronicled narrative. She's worse than that Tia girl. "Now you're just freaking messing with me!"

Wes rolls his eyes and walks past her, "Let's just move on. This nonsense is getting us nowhere." The other four follow suit.

Mei throws up her arms and reluctantly follows. Like a good girl, "Bite me." She says bitterly. Still she had a bad feeling about this old manor.

From the top of the manor a figure looks out the window upon Phenac City. "This plan surely will make sure Halloween never comes again." The figure twists his lips into an evil and sinister grin as he steps out of the shadows. Revealing himself to be the Grinch. Since his last defeat at the hands of Tia and the Doctor last Christmas he's redoubled his efforts to stop Halloween once and for all. Little did he know; he had visitors. The doorbell rings throughout the home. It's a deep, haunting tune. "Curses, who is at the door?" He looks around at a large keyboard and monitor. He hits a button and pulls up a display of the front door. "Six interlopers. I'll spook them off." He smiles evilly as he hits a button to release a horde of Zubat to chase them off.

Suddenly the door opens on the gang. "I guess it's okay to go in?" Cary shrugs and walks in the front door.

The Grinch stares dumbfounded. "No! Don't enter! Blast, these buttons are so confusing. Curse you, Scrooge for not making a simpler interface to follow. Oh well, it matters not. I'll just need to scare them so much they flee and run back to tell everyone to stay away. Make an example of them. This will work." He's callous and calculated. The Grinch is determined to frighten these six if it's the last thing he does.

Wes looks around, "You know Cary; this place doesn't seem too haunted."

Ryoko investigates one of the dressers in the hall. "Yeah, creaky and run down, but hardly haunted."

The six hear a ghostly wail fill the manor. "See? Told you it was haunted." Cary feels a bit too proud about being proven right.

"So shouldn't we leave?" Mei gets a very suspicious vibe from the place.

"Come on, where's your sense of adventure?" Haruka enthusiastically walks ahead. When suddenly, from around the corner a monster appears. She screams and hops into Ryoko's arms.

Ebony walks up to it and pokes it. "It's cardboard. A juvenile attempt. Jump scares are hardly anything to fear." Looks around and examines a mirror, but instead of her face she sees the face of a frightful, old hag. She jumps back and pats her hands all over her face. "Oh thank god." She takes a sigh of relief.

"Really? That scared you?" Mei couldn't believe that would be frightening. These were all childish pranks and obvious tricks.

Ebony recovers her composure. "Some of us worry about their vanity."

Ryoko speaks up, "Okay. Something's clearly going on here and I'm not sure I like it. I think we should split up and look for clues." This feels like a brilliant idea to him.

Though not all agree. "What? That's a horrible idea. We should stick together and just leave." More eerie wails and boos fill the air. "It's not worth it."

"You two are such wet blankets." Cary points to both Mei and Wes. "Besides, I want my candy." Both Ebony and Haruka agree.

"It's decide, we'll split up and search the house. I'll go with Haruka, naturally. So we'll check out the basement. Ebony and Cary, you two check upstairs. That leaves Mei and Wes to search this floor."

"Wait, why are we going together? I'd rather go with you two." Mei pleads to Ryoko.

"We can't go in groups of threes, we need to cover as much ground as possible." Ryoko figures this is a pretty sound logic.

"I'd rather go by myself then with him." Mei points to Wes and turns up her nose.

"It's dangerous to go alone. Take him with you." Ryoko advises.

Mei groans, "Fine, but if we run into a crazy serial killer, I'm tripping your ass so I can make my escape." She stares up at Wes and looks him dead in the eye.

"Fine, but if he's got you cornered, I'm rooting for the serial killer." Wes replies with just as much bitter malice.

"This sounds like it'll end well." Ebony giggles into her hand. "Well, have fun you four. Cary and I will explore upstairs."

"Let's look in the bedroom first." Cary suggests.

"You ready my mind." She looks back at the other with a sultry grin and a wink.

"Those two have no shame." Wes sighs in anguish over his less than modest cohorts.

"Crap. Ryoko, we should have taken the upstairs." Haruka pouts.

"Really? You too?" Wes could not believe the company he was in. He felt like he should cut his losses and leave, but he'd never hear the end of it from Cary and Ebony. He just shakes his head and follows Mei.

She leads them down the hall as she looks around occasionally opening doors. "Nothing." She mutters aloud.

"What are we even looking for?" Wes didn't get it, to him this was just some creepy, old house. "It's not like there's going to be some giant sign that says 'Clue'." This whole charade felt ridiculous to him. Especially after Mei was the one so up front about not going in.

"Look, the faster we figure out what's going on the faster we can get out of this place. Okay? So just shut and look for something suspicious." Mei didn't like working with him and more than he did her.

Though something does catch his eye. "Like that painting that's clearly watching us?" He points to an old portrait that had a pair of eyes clearly following their movements.

Mei turns and looks. The eyes quickly jump back and close to the painting's normal eyes. "Okay, so we're being watch. That's definitely creepy. So we're not alone in the manor." Mei all of a sudden felt a bit less secure. The halls fill with a crash of lightning. Scaring Mei off her feet into Wes's arms. She recovers from the fright and notices the compromising position she's put herself in. "You can let me go now." Without hesitation Wes drops Mei. She falls to the ground with a quick yelp and a loud thud. She rubs her lower back. "Asshole."

Wes continues searching without even offering her a hand to pick her up. "Maybe there's a secret door?" Wes starts pressing his hands against the walls to no avail. "So if there is someone in the house and they are clearly spying on us. Isn't this the best time to cut and run? What if they really is a serial killer?" Wes was putting way too much thought into this. He should just continue wandering around aimlessly like any good horror movie character. "No." He protests.

"This is so messed up." Mei shakes her head, "I hate to admit it, but I'm with you on this one." The turn start to turn back when they hear a groan from the end of the hallway. The look and see a tall, lumbering figure. A hunched body, green skin, and crazed look in the eye running for them. "Run!" She books it down the hall with Wes not far behind.

They see a doorway at the end of the hall illuminated by a couple candles on the wall. The monster behind them was gaining fast. Mei had to think of a plain quick. She slowed down slightly so Wes could match her frantic pace. "Okay Wes, I have a plan."

"I'm listening." Wes sprints as fast as he can to assure that he puts as much distance between him and the monster as possible.

"Okay on the count of three." She readies herself.

"On three what?" Wes asks frantically.

"Three!" She quickly sweeps Wes's leg causing him to lose his footing and fall to the ground. "I don't have to be faster than him, just faster than the asshole behind me!"

"You Bit-" His shouts are muffled by the sudden slamming of the door.

Mei panics and quickly looks the door and bars it with a wooden chair. She wipes sweat from her brow. "That was a close one. Sorry Wes, you will not be missed." She walks off as she regains her energy.

Meanwhile, in the basement. "Hey Haruka, check this out." He points to the ground where a small pile of feathers lays. "What do you think these belong to. A Farfetch'd, maybe a Ducklett?" Ryoko examines it closely.

She shakes her head, "No, these are the right color for a Farfetch'd and I'm sure there's no way a Ducklett could survive in Orre." They are interrupted from their search when they hear the sounds of Mei and Wes shouting and running upstairs.

"That doesn't sound good." Ryoko gets up and backs up. He looks up to the ceiling not paying attention. He feels his back press against the wall, but then the way falls back causing him to lose his footing and fall through the false wall.

Haruka looks back to him. "Ryoko?" She calls out. "Ryoko?" Haruka says with a bit more urgency. "Ryoko!" She cries out desperately trying to find him. She runs back upstairs hoping he'll be there.

Mei hears the cries of Haruka shouting Ryoko's name and runs to her voice. The two reconvene in the foyer at the base of the stairs to the second floor. "Haruka? What's the matter? Where's Ryoko?" She asks frantically.

Haruka was practically in tears. "I don't know? One minutes he's right beside me, the next gone without a trace." She trembles. "Where's Wes?"

Mei hesitates. "The monster got him." She says with fake concern. Though she omits the fact it had help. "We need to stick together. Ryoko couldn't have gone far."

"What's going on down here?" Cary asks as he runs down with Ebony.

"Yeah, we heard screaming. Is everyone alright?" She looks around as she adjusts her costume. "Where's Wes?"

Mei frowns, "The monster got him."

Ebony looks noticeably shaken by this. Breaking her usual calm composure. "Monster? So we're not alone in the house." Mei shakes her head regretfully. Not for Wes, but that Ryoko is now missing too. "This changes things. We need to find them."

"Eb this place is huge. They could be anywhere." Cary brought up a good point. "Plus, with an actual monster running around we could be next."

Mei walks over to a painting, "What's worse, we saw eyes following us in a painting like this one." She turns her back to it. "So that thing could be watching us right now." Little did Mei know; when she turned her head a small compartment in the painting opened up with a hand reaching out. With quickly swipe it grabs Mei by the shoulder. She screams bloody murder when she tries to loosen its grip on her. She breaks from and falls to the ground in terror.

The next thing they hear is the sound of muffled laughter. "Oh my god, okay. _That_ made it worth." The hand retreats in and opens the door next to the painting. Wes steps out with Ryoko right behind him.

"Ryoko!" Haruka throws herself around him and holds him tightly, crying into his arms. "What happened? I was so scared." She whimpers.

He smiles and pats her on the head, "It's a long story. When I was in the basement with you, I accidently stumbled into a false wall. Which sent me down this weird slide. At the bottom was a smaller room in the basement. From there I found a very narrow set of stairs leading to a hallway build in between the walls of the first floor. That's when I saw Wes running from that monster. I quickly opened up a passage and pulled him in when the monster lost sight of him. From there we navigated the hallway and went from passage to passage until we found you guys." Ryoko explains so much about how they were being watching how the monster is most likely navigating the manor.

"So I thought I'd get a little pay back for the way you, ya know. Left me for dead!" Wes was still sore about that. Rightfully, so.

"Brightside, I know have a good idea of how to catch the monster." The group huddles together while Ryoko explains the plan. "Okay here's the plan."

After about an hours of work their plan was completely. The foyer and main hallway were completely lined with an array of ropes, pulleys, and devices. "Alright gang, so this is how it's going to go down. I rigged up a trip wire at the end of the hall down there. So when we lure the monster in, he'll trip the wire, a bowling ball will release from the ceiling falling into a basket places on a see-saw, tossing a hammer into the air which will hit a bust with a rope around the neck. The hammer will shatter the bust releasing the rope causing a wooden croquet mallet to hit a bucket full of marbles onto the floor right as the monster runs across. He'll trip and lose his footing on the marbles as he crosses the threshold of the foyer. There he'll stumble right into a basket, he'll then fall over causing him to roll across the floor into the next room where a cage will drop down on him." Ryoko explains his plan in glorious detail.

Wes just stares in awe. "Do you have any idea how stupidly complicated that trap was? I mean if even one thing goes wrong this whole plan goes sideways."

"I think its fool proof." Haruka happily defends Ryoko's ridiculously complex trap.

"Aren't you like a scientist and an engineer or something? In what insane reality does this sound like the best option? Who's going to be the idiot to lure the monster anyway?" Wes shakes his head in complete disbelief.

"Why you of course." Ryoko gives him a thumbs up/

Wes pauses and just stares in disbelief. "Hell no! I'm not risking my neck over a plan that will most likely not work."

"Would you do for a PokeSnack?" Haruka holds up a box of Pokémon snacks.

"Those are for Pokémon!" He protests.

"Two PokeSnacks?" She tries to sweeten the pot.

"You two must think I'm the biggest dumbass in the world to fall for that." Wes is feeling quite insult.

"Three PokeSnacks, that's my final offer." Haruka says firmly.

"I don't want your damn Pokémon food woman!" Wes shouts.

"Just do it. The sooner you do the sooner we can all leave this god forsaken place." Mei's had enough and was ready to go. Setting up the trap took a bit out of her too.

Wes sighs and takes his position. He clears his throat, "Oh no, I seem to be lost. It would be really unfortunate if a monster would come and chase when I am lost and away from the group." Surprisingly enough, Wes's phoned in line attracts the monster's attention he quickly starts running, but to his dismay accidently trips the wire himself. What proceeds is a series of ridiculous contraptions somehow coming together perfect harmony to ensnare Wes in the cage. "I hate my life." He says from his cage. The cage he very easily lifts off himself.

The monster just stands in confusion, but what no one expected was that the hammer after breaking the bust flipped through the air and hit the monster right on the head and knocks him to the ground.

The gang runs over to the monster. "Awesome, we caught the monster!" Ryoko rejoices as if his plan had worked as intended. "Now to see who he really is."

They pull off the mask and reveal its true identity. In unison they all say. "Scrooge McDuck?"

"Who?" Mei asks.

"That's right it was me and I would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling trainers." He scowls as they pull off the rest of the costume revealing he was standing on stilts.

"But why did you do it Scrooge?" Haruka begs the obvious question.

"I'll answer that." The gang looks up and sees the Grinch walking down the stairs. "You see we wanted to put an end to Halloween once and for all. I constructed this haunted house to scare any child who came through. That way when they returned to the city they'd warn other kids and would be too scared to celebrate Halloween ever again." The Grinch explains his sinister plan.

Wes is utterly baffled. "That was your plan? That's ridiculous. Even if it did work then, congratulations. You managed to scare a couple kids enough to never want to go back to this manor again."

Ryoko thought the same, "Yeah, plus this is still technically on city grounds so we could just pass an ordinances and have this place demolished."

The Grinch and Scrooge stare, mouths agape. "You can't do that. We put a lot of time and effort into making this haunted house." Scrooge protests.

"Fine, then use this haunted house for good and not for ruining everyone's fun." Haruka suggests, but in a more forceful and demanding tone.

Cary chimes in, "And we want our candy."

"Can you please think of something else?" Wes has had about enough of this endless demand for candy.

"Fine, we've learned our lesson." Scrooge sinks his head in remorse.

"And you two better not return in the Christmas Special again!" Mei threatens.

"We promise." The two say in unison.

"Well gang looks like we solved this mystery. Now let's head back in town. We'll make it just in time for the Cipher Halloween party." Ryoko puts an arm around Haruka and walks out with Ebony and Cary close behind.

"Well this has been an experience." Wes sighs and walks off.

"I'm going to need a lot of alcohol after this." Mei just shakes her head and walks out with the rest. Thus ending the tale of how six brave trainers were able to save Halloween. Rest now heroes, for an even greater evil awaits you this Christmas. But that is a story for another day.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas universe as a whole. Happy Halloween all. I hope you liked the ridiculous Scooby-Doo parody. Felt fitting and if a lot of the things felt confusing or contrived, good! Frankly those episodes always felt like they ended a bit too cleanly or never addressed the real issues. Of course it's a kid show and I love it for that, but I just wanted a logical take on it. Like why would they stick around? Why make such a stupidly complex trap? All and all, I just wanted it to be a funny and wacky chapter.


	15. Chapter 14: Man in the Shadows

Chapter 14: Man in the Shadows

After a couple days of looking the two Cipher spies have had very little luck finding the elusive, former gym leader. They aren't ready to give up just yet though. Fuchsia City had a lot to offer for trainers to do. The gym and Safari Zone being the two largest attractions that this city is known for. There were rare Pokémon to be sought in the Safari Zone so Ryoko had that as an option as well as going for another gym badge if he felt so inclined. Though, he wasn't sure if he was up for the hassle. Though, a Poison Type gym would prove very little effect against his Metagross, who would pulverize the entire gym without a second thought, at worst he may have to use a different Psychic Type if he somehow lost with Metagross.

At least the ruse of a Pokémon trainer gives him plenty of chances to search for Koga without drawing suspicion. Mika walks in after breakfast and gives a basic run down on what they hope to accomplish today. "I have some possible leads, but there's still nothing concrete." She gets right down to business.

"Let's hear it, I'm up for anything if it helps." Ryoko didn't want to come off as impatient, but at this point it felt like a trying to find a needle in a hay stack. "So where to today?"

Mika pulls out a pamphlet. "I'm not holding my breath, but I have reason to believe if Koga was going to hide anywhere, the Safari Zone would be a likely candidate. Plenty of places to hide in there, plus it's a natural maze, there's no chance that a trainer would explore every inch of it at once."

Ryoko nods, "It's a good a place to check as any." He gets up and follows her to the Safari Zone. There were already a number of trainers outside getting ready to go in, discussing the Pokémon they caught, and rare ones they hope to find. Ryoko smirks, "Even if he isn't here we'll at least get to possibly catch some rare Pokémon."

Mika wasn't as interested in rare Pokémon, but Ryoko had a point. "Potential Shadows are never a bad thing, Ein would certainly love it if we got some rare Pokémon for him to test shadowification on." She's sure to keep her voice down when discussing this matter in public.

Ryoko looks around cautiously. "So are we going to head in and split up? I want to cover more ground, but splitting up could lead to us getting into a bad situation."

Mika understands Ryoko's concern, but she's not too worried. "I don't think Koga will try anything. Still, you're right to keep your guard up. We can't be too careful." The two both enter into the Safari Zone and are given their thirty Safari Balls as well as Pokémon food and a counter indicating how much time they have in the Safari Zone. "We have thirty minutes so let's cover as much ground as possible and don't waste all your Safari Balls before the timer runs out."

Ryoko shakes his head, "I know, I'm not going to. I know why we're here and it's not for fun and games. I'll call you if I find him." Mika runs off to the East, leaving Ryoko to take the West.

The dense thicket and trees made this a perfect habitat for Pokémon and a natural maze like Mika pointed out so finding anyone in here will be a chore. Especially if that person is deliberately hiding. Tauros roam and graze free, Pinsir and Scyther prowl through trees freely, and Kangaskhan migrate close together in herds. It was very peaceful.

Still relaxing was hardly an option for Ryoko, but he still had to look the part. He wanders around before settling near a small lake bed. To his surprise a Dragonair pops out of the water. "Well here's something," he's actually relieved to see a rare Pokémon, "finally, a rare catch. I was going to go crazy if I found another freaking Nidoran." Ryoko pulls out some Pokémon food and slowly inches closer to the Pokémon. While initially reluctant and ready to flee, Ryoko is able to calmly approach the Pokémon and feed it. "Alright, now just get in the ball." He throws a Safari Ball as Dragonair eats. The ball shakes once, twice, but releases before the third shake. Dragonair is now more leery and conscious of Ryoko's moves. The two stare each other down intensely. Neither side blinking or backing down. "You will be mine." He swears and he slowly draws another ball from his bag. The Dragonair stares Ryoko down, not shaken or frightened. It was testing his resolve it felt like. Like the Pokémon was sizing him up to determine if he's a worthy trainer. Ryoko throws the ball and it connects with Dragonair's head. The ball shakes once, twice, three times, and locks with a ping.

He smiles triumphantly and picks up the Safari Ball. "That Dragonair must really high hopes for you." Ryoko's surprised by a woman's voice speaking up behind him. He turns to see a black haired woman sits writing in a small journal with a refined air about her. "You're not the first trainer to try and catch that Dragonair. She's pretty particular." She stares deep into his eyes with her vibrant, blue eyes. "You are a conflicted man." She diagnoses.

Ryoko gives her a strange look. "Okay, Ms. Psychic. I'm fine, thanks for asking." She seemed like a bit of a freak show to Ryoko.

"Chante," she abruptly introduces herself. "You are conflicted, but you seem to have it buried under a lot of darkness." She looks deep into his inner emotions. She looks a bit uneasy about that. "Perhaps it is your career or your personal life?" Chante didn't have the answers, but a dark cloud loomed over Ryoko for certain and she saw it plain as day.

"Whatever, you don't know me." He turns his back to her.

"I know you're a man with a strong resolved, but you don't have the heart of a trainer. Not a traditional trainer, I suppose is more accurate to your situation." She continues to analyze him.

"Who are you anyway?" He is tired of her head games.

"As I said, my name is Chante. I am a member of Unova's Elite Four. I've met many trainers in my time, but none like yourself. What is your name?" She sets down her journal and welcomes him to sit beside her on a bench.

"Not that it matters to you, but the name's Ryoko." He entertains the notion and sits next to her.

"Ryoko? Orrean are we?" She gives him a sly glance.

Ryoko winces and shakes his head. "No, I'm from Hoenn. Lilycove City. I know it sounds like a name from the Orre Region. Blame my parents." He tries to play it cool, but to very little avail.

Still, Chante drops the matter. "I guess I was wrong." She says this, but isn't convinced. "What brings you to the Safari Zone today?" She asks seemingly out of nowhere.

Ryoko sighs and shakes his head. "I'm here the same reason anyone else is, to catch rare Pokémon. Well, everyone except you apparently. Why are you just writing in the middle of the Safari Zone? Aren't you on a timer?"

Chante shakes her head, "I wouldn't call it privileged, but the Elite Four have a certain clout, even in other regions. I simply asked if I may write in the peaceful tranquility of the Safari Zone. I paid, but turned down the Safari Balls. I've been sitting here writing for the last hour or so. It's quite peaceful don't you agree?" She brushes a stray hair from her face and smiles serenely. A breeze blows through as stray leaves pass by her. Chante was the epitome of elegance and grace. Many people would agree. Though Ryoko's confident her feminine wiles wouldn't work on him.

She was right though. He did feel more relaxed and at ease. "I guess so." He stubbornly admits. "So are you a writer too?" He continues talking to her, though he can think of some many other things he should be doing.

She nods, "I suppose not everyone has head of my work. I can't be upset by that. I am famous throughout the world. Not to boast." Yet she mentions it anyway. "What I'm saying is, yes. I am a writer. It is my passion second only to Pokémon battling. I share a fondness for both and I'd never miss an opportunity to write or battle. Speaking of, care to humor me for one?" She asks sweetly.

Ryoko shakes his head, "I'm busy right now. Plus we're not allowed to battle in the Safari Zone."

She chuckles, "I'd never interrupt you whilst you were in the middle of catching Pokémon." She says despite doing that very act at this moment. "I'll leave you to it then. Please, look for me afterwards. You seem like a strong trainer. I wish to test your mettle." Chante winks and resumes her writing.

Ryoko didn't get her at all, but he wouldn't mind a good battle. Especially from a member of the Elite Four. He figures besting her in a battle would really be a good gauge of his skills. He agrees to her request. "Fine, but I've got a few things I need to take care of first." Ryoko explains.

"Of course." Chante accepts this. She knows it's a sudden request, but something about Ryoko's piqued her interest. Like another certain, young trainer she's met before.

Ryoko meanders around the Safari Zone a bit more before stumbling upon a building. A more remote building. He'd noticed plenty before, but this is in the far back part of the grounds. Very remotely hidden from the rest of the buildings. He didn't know if this was some sort of test and anyone who reached got a prize or if this was indeed where Koga may be hiding.

It was a long shot, but he headed inside anyway. Inside is a somewhat dimly lit room and a man sitting at a table, drinking tea. He looks up at Ryoko with sharp eyes. "I hear you've been looking for me." He says calmly, but his tone is still very cold.

Ryoko nods and picks up his X-Transceiver, "Yeah, Mika? I found him. Meet me in the building at the very back of the Safari Zone."

"Please, sit. We have much to discuss apparently." Koga offers him a seat. "So who are you and what do you want with me?" He pours Ryoko tea.

"Should, I really be accepting tea from a ninja?" Ryoko retorts, but he doubts Koga would so easily poison his tea.

"Smart boy, but if I wanted to eliminate you, I would have done so already. I wanted to figure out what you wanted of me before I actually I decide you were a threat or not." Koga speaks with brutal honesty.

"How sweet." Ryoko responds sarcastically. "I'm here, because I know you used to be a member of the group Team Rocket."

Koga scowls, "What business is that of yours?"

Ryoko shakes his head, "Don't worry, I'm with Team Cipher. We need information from you for one of our missions."

Koga smirks and drinks more of his tea. "Team Cipher? Far reaching are we? What are you trying to salvage from the remnants of Giovanni's organization? As far as I know, everything's confiscated by authorities or destroyed by Team Rocket."

Ryoko lowers his cup and looks right into Koga's eyes. "We want data on Mewtwo."

Koga's eyes widen as he sets his drink down too. "Mewtwo? His data? Someone's ambitious. Why does Cipher want Mewtwo's data?"

"Shouldn't that be obvious?" Mika chimes in and sits beside Ryoko. "We want to shadowify Mewtwo. It's that simple. That kind of power on Cipher's side will make us an unstoppable force in Orre."

"I see, then why bother me? You should have surely figured out that Blaine was in charge of Mewtwo's development. Not I." Koga seems a little surprised that they'd be coming to him of all the former Rocket members.

"You were one of Team Rocket's three beasts. If anyone was privy to that data then you'd surely be one of them." Mika reveals.

"Yes, and so was Sabrina and Lt. Surge. Why not ask them?" Koga smirks and relaxes his stance.

"Lt. Surge is on the straight and narrow now." Mika comments.

"Also, I don't think Sabrina will be very receptive. Plus, I'd rather not cross a woman so closely tied to some of the strongest trainers in the world." Ryoko did not see her as even an option.

"And you think Blaine doesn't have the same options? Even their young, up start friend could take you." He gives Ryoko a sinister grin.

"That's why we'd rather not fight." Mika defuses the situation.

"Sounds to me like you're just delaying the inevitable. Blaine is your only option. You both know this." He looks to Mika specifically. "You're just afraid to confront him aren't you?"

Mika has every right to be afraid, this situation was extremely dangerous. "Of course, I'm rather not go into a situation completely out classed. There is no way we could fight a legendary Pokémon. Especially not one of Mewtwo's caliber."

"So you admit it, well I suggest you think of plan to earn Blaine's trust and steal it behind his back, or go in and try to steal them, damned the consequences." Koga gives his own advice.

"The consequences, being at least half a dozen legendary Pokémon to fight us off. Mika, he's got a point. If we can earn Blaine's trust we might be able to do this." Ryoko is starting to see Koga's way of thinking, which gives him a plan. "It won't be easy, but I'm thinking we can pull this off yet." Ryoko stands up. "Thank you for your time Koga."

Koga laughs, "Thank me? I honestly wasn't expect that. Either way, stay safe. I'm not going to sit and say I'm a good man, but it would be a shame if something were to happen to people with such high ambitions."

Ryoko and Mika show themselves out. They head back and about half way there the timers go off. An Abra teleports to them and just as quickly teleports them back to the entrance. Ryoko collects his things and looks around the lobby. "I have something I need to settle before we go." Ryoko walks over to Chante who was sitting patiently and writing.

"I'll catch up." Mika steps outside and walks alongside the building. She picks up her X-Transceiver. "It's me, we've got a new plan. We're going straight to the source." Mika doesn't sound too happy.

"You're doing exactly what you're supposed to do Agent Epsilon?" The voice on the other end is distorted, but clearly not happy with how long she was taking.

"Get off my back Epoch, I don't want to do this. You know this. You're supposed to be watching over those two aren't you?" Mika reveals her true colors and a familiar name.

"You're the agent that was selected for this mission not me. At least it _was_ one of us. I'm not happy about this outcome either way." Epoch reveals his own hesitations.

"If we get caught then there's no way we'll be able to stop X from getting involved, because he doesn't know the situation." Mika was clearly not who she seemed.

"Well Agent Adam and Agent Eve will hopefully be able to distract them if you need a quick escape." Epoch compromises.

"What about Six or Zeta?" She hopes anyone would be able to provide real help without compromising her cover or the mission.

"Both busy on some mission." Epoch explains. "Look, I'm sorry we can't be more help, but I have faith in you dear."

Mika nods, "Thank you, Haruto. I love you." She hangs up and puts her device away. This was a dangerous mission, but now it's gotten even more dangerous.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. The plot thickens. For anyone who may be wondering, Ryoko's plot line's about to get a lot more eventful don't worry. I've got a lot to cover with him, as well as everyone else. So there's a lot to look forward too. Especially with this big reveal.


	16. Chapter 15: Dark Emotions

Chapter 15: Dark Emotions

The stage was set. Ryoko had found Chante after his run in with Koga in the Safari Zone and their battle was under way. Chante had a special condition though. "I want a battle with you and the Dragonair, you caught. I'm sure you'd like to test her out in battle anyway. So this will be a simple one-on-one match."

Ryoko agreed, "Fine with me, I was thinking the same thing." Ryoko had a look of confidence on his face. He was ready to face her head on and not back down. Chante may be a member of Unova's Elite Four, but that didn't frighten him. He stood firm. "Go Dragonair!" He called out the latest addition to his team.

Dragonair enters the battlefield and glimpses around. She looked back at Ryoko, trying to get a read on him. She was quite emotionally in tuned. Chante could see this a mile away. Question was, could Ryoko?

Chante calls out her first Pokémon. "Let us begin Chandelure. We'll allow you the first move." She courteously offered.

"You're going to regret that. Go Dragonair use Aqua Tail." Ryoko knows all too well the offensive powers a Dragonair had, so Aqua Tail will be pretty powerful against a Chandelure.

Chante chuckled softly, "Protect." Chandelure stayed stationary and protected itself with a barrier of energy, deflecting the attack before it could connect. "Now use Trick Room." Chante had a trick of her own she was ready to pull out. A distorted field surrounds the battlefield and reverses their speeds. Now the much slower Chandelure was easily able to out speed the once faster Dragonair.

"Dragonair get back." The two seemed to be on a similar wave length. Ryoko's smart to back off and see what's going to happen before acting. Chante is pleased to see the two are working well in tandem. Still, she wonders how well he'll perform under pressure.

"Shadow Ball." Chandelure fires off a ball of dark energy at Dragonair. The attack is far faster than it should be, but Ryoko had a plan.

He looked for the right timing, which was critical in a battle while under the effects of a Trick Room. "Dragonair spin around and bat it away with a Dragon Tail." Dragonair leapt forward as her tail began to glow. The Shadow Ball flies towards her, but just in time Dragonair throws her weight and knocks away the Shadow Ball. Sending the attack back towards Chandelure.

"Heat Wave" Chandelure unleashes a resurgence of heat to counter the attack. The heat and dark orb collided violently, creating a small explosion.

"Now Dragon Tail!" Ryoko takes advantage of the plump of smoke and had Dragonair fly through it and finally land a solid hit on Chandelure. It'll still take a lot more than that to stop Chante, but this was a good start.

She unfortunately retaliates almost instantly. "Heat Wave once more." Dragonair's suddenly knocked back by the powerful strike of heat that easily deflected the last attack. "Another Shadow Ball."

"Dragonair, you can dodge this." Ryoko knew his Pokémon was no pushover, the Heat Wave was strong, but it was not nearly enough to have Ryoko worried.

Dragonair serpentine through the attack and got right in Chandelure's face. Ryoko called out another Aqua Tail. Chante is quick to Protect and shifted back to a point blank Heat Wave. Dragonair is knocked back, frustrating Ryoko, his anger was starting to boil over. He couldn't tell why, but he felt his emotions flaring. As if something were dragging them out of him. Chante's every move somehow just happened to strike a chord with him. Forcing a stalemate at every action. Rarely either side getting a hit in.

Little did he know; Chante was all about emotional manipulation. She at a glance knew that Ryoko had a dark heart and she wanted to see how far she could push it. Some criticize her methods as foul play, but she'd always justified it as being a part of battle. A trainer needs to keep a cool head in battle, otherwise their judgement is impaired and they lose focus. So she didn't mind exploiting the emotions of others. Especially when Tom was no stranger to emotional barrages when he battles.

"Hit that Chandelure! Dragon Tail!" Dragonair seemed a little put off by Ryoko's demands, but attacks regardless. She manages to get the attack to connect, but Chandelure was far from down. "Aqua Tail!"

"Shadow Ball." Chante keeps her cool throughout all this and used a Shadow Ball to deflect the oncoming attack. Another wash, whenever one side gets a slight lead the other side leveled the playing field again. Like Chante was holding back. "Another Shadow Ball." She calmly ordered Chandelure to attack once more. This time Dragonair won't be able to dodge fast enough. Dragonair is far more resilient than that however. She awaits Ryoko's next command, but looks at him somewhat irritated.

"Use Agility." Ryoko makes an interesting call to boost Dragonair's speed while under the effects of Trick Room. She's initially reluctant, but does what he says. As if Dragonair is beginning to have doubts. Dragonair's speed raised. Ryoko grinned, "Aqua Tail." Dragonair chose to listen and charged forward. Dragonair's speed increases rapidly. Ryoko smirked, "Perfect." Trick Room wore off just in time.

Dragonair leapt through the air and whirled her tail at Chandelure. Chandelure takes the hit and spins from the recoiling damage. Dragonair acknowledged Ryoko had a plan and she shouldn't have doubted him.

Chandelure bounced back. "You two have good synergy together, just work a bit more on your trust and communication. That comes with time though." Chante's impressed that Ryoko wasn't rattled by this.

Ryoko understood what she was saying, but a Pokémon to him was a tool and nothing more. A good Pokémon does what it's told without question. A disobedient Pokémon was a weak Pokémon. A Useless Pokémon. "Whatever," he rolled his eyes, "finish it with another Aqua Tail."

Dragonair flies towards Chandelure. Except, Chante didn't seem too happy, she knew her words weren't reaching him. "Protect." Chandelure was quickly able to deflect the attack and unleashes another Heat Wave.

Mika walked up amidst Ryoko and Chante's battle. "_Who is he battling now?_" She looked at his opponent and gasped. "_Chante? This could be bad._" She's well aware of Chante's empathic capabilities. Mika worries she'll see right through Ryoko and expose him for the corrupt trainer he was.

Chante's decided she's seen enough. "Let's finish this with a Shadow Ball." Her mood shifted considerably. She channeled in on Ryoko and Dragonair's emotions. "Tell me Ryoko, what do you fear most?" Her question confused and shook Ryoko.

"Dragonair, bat it away again." He almost stumbled, but recovered just in the nick of time. Dragonair as well, she dodged the attack and battled it with a Dragon Tail back at Chandelure. "Why is that any concern of yours?"

"Humor me, if you will. Is it failure?" Her questioning did not amuse Ryoko. "Are you afraid of death? It's perfectly natural. Maybe the loss of another?" She final struck a chord with Ryoko. "Oh? Who is it you're so afraid of losing. A friend, family member, a particular loved one?" She keeps prying to invoke a response. She noticed him react to loved one. "Who is she?" Chante asks with a calm smile.

"Enough, armchair psychologist. We have a battle. Dragonair, finish her Chandelure with an Aqua Tail." Ryoko was fuming. This obviously caused him to miss a very pivotal move.

He was so head strong to run in he didn't realize Dragonair was wide open to an attack. "Shadow Ball." Chante gave her final declaration and ended the battle with a final, devastating Shadow Ball to Dargonair's face.

Ryoko clenched his teeth and called back Dragonair. "So much for a fair battle." He was so frustrated after all she said.

Chante shook her head and frowned. "A good trainer doesn't let his emotions get the better of him in battle and cloud his judgement, your loss was not because of me, but your own inexperience." Calling him inexperienced was rubbing salt in the wound. "You and your Pokémon are allies."

Ryoko glared at Chante. "Pokémon are tools, nothing more."

She continued looking down on Ryoko, "If that's what you think, then it's no wonder why you lost. A Pokémon is more than just something you command. They are friends and partners in battle." She preached what any self-respecting trainer would say.

Ryoko scoffs. He hated suffering another loss at the hands of a trainer he by all accounts should be just strong as or stronger than. "Well we had our battle, guess it's time to go then." It's a very bitter pill to swallow. Losing to Mary and Chante. Both saying the same thing. They both said this, which baffled Ryoko. Pokémon are tools for battle. This is a core tenant of Cipher. So how can treating them like his friends possibly grow their strength?

Chante noted Ryoko's confusion. "I hope you someday understand. Let's go Chandelure." She called back her Pokémon and walked away.

"Wait." Ryoko stopped her. "How is treating your Pokémon like that make you so much stronger?" This still made no sense to the Team Cipher agent.

"Imagine this, when you have a bond with someone, say your girlfriend." Chante already knew he must have one to invoke the respond she did before. "You care about one another. Possibly even love one another. Now, say she was in danger. Would you not act in a manner that would assure her safety? Exceeding all limits you thought possible in order to protect her. Pokémon and human's battle together, your bonds build trust and care with each other. So naturally you'll understand each other on a deeper level and you'll be all the more invested in the battle. Not because they're a tool that helps you win, but because they are a friend who you've grow together with. Winning to them is just as important as it is to you. They don't want to let you down and you don't want to let them down. You achieve harmony and serendipity." Chante had quite a lot to say on the matter, she can only hope that it got through to Ryoko.

"So like my relationship with Haruka?" He pondered to himself. He knows for certain that protecting her has caused him to act recklessly, but also drew a power within. It wasn't personal interest, it was the desire to protect the one he cared about. "So developing a bond strengthens both my Pokémon and me? If I put so much time and effort into raising them, then it would only be natural that I would be all the more invested in winning." A thought passes through Ryoko's head. Why has Cipher always suppressed such thoughts when clearly this is a working method? He's always thought free thinking outside of anything Cipher taught him was anarchy, but Chante has brought up a very legitimate point.

Chante senses that Ryoko's growing conflicted. His thoughts cloudy with doubt. "Take your time and think about this. Someday you'll understand." She left him with that final parting bit of advice.

Ryoko's mind is whirling at that thought of this. For all these years, for all his life, Cipher's always taught him to suppress feelings. Ein wholly objected to his relationship with Haruka. Saying things like, love is a dangerous emotion, or that his feelings for her cloud his judgement. Now some Empath is telling him that this was wrong? Ein is undeniably a strong trainer, but even he is bond by his emotions. He cares deeply for Haruka just like Ryoko. Ryoko's always asked himself why he couldn't love her, but Ein got a free pass?

Ryoko's mission had grown more complicated in a number of ways. He finally had to ask Mika. "Is she right?" He couldn't bare not to hear what one of his own would say.

Mika nods, "Yeah, I'd never defy Cipher, but I've said for years the way they train agents to treat Pokémon is fundamentally flawed. Shadow Pokémon are heartless battling machines. Still at the end of the day, sheer power is not the only way to win. This battle proved it. I've also felt the way Cipher raised you three was a bit extreme."

"What do you mean?" It's no secret that Ryoko, Haruka, and Mei were all raised in Cipher from babies. What was important to note was, they were the first.

"You know they created the program specifically to raise you three into future Admins. They have a lot riding on this, that's why you three were the only ones initiated at birth. They did something interesting things. Nothing inhumane, but all three of you were raised differently to an extent." Mika only knew this, because she'd taken time to research the three. She just hopes he doesn't ask why.

"I'm aware, but what's the problem? We've all rose through the ranks to elite agents." Ryoko has never cared much for rank. At least not as much as Mei, but he still did his best and gave it his all.

"I think they've imposed their wills on you instead of letting you grow the way you were supposed to. In the battle of Nature vs. Nurture when it comes to who you are on a fundamental level. Nature will always win. Which is why you're conflicted. It's just my theory though. Again, I'm not about to question the actions of the Admins or our leaders." Even though she just did and still does.

Ryoko shook his head, "I need some time to think." He walks off and fights back a major headache. He was trying to clear up the line of right and wrong. Where he stood and where Chante's advice laid.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. So the plot thickens. Ryoko's starting to question everything he's ever known. I'm glad I got to bring back Chante for this chapter too. Ever since her battle with Tia, I've wanted to show her off more.


	17. Chapter 16: A Grim Encounter

Chapter 16: A Grim Encounter

While plans went into motion in Kanto other secret agendas were being planned back in Orre. Haruka kept to herself most days when she worked, so it was not difficult for her to get away with almost anything. Plus, Ein had all the trust in the world in her. She felt a twinge of guilt over what she was doing, but Haruka has her own goals and she's going to do whatever she had to reach them.

She for now sat back and dug up anything Gonzap wanted, but for a price. She wasn't just going to hand over the information, she wanted incentive. Whether it's wiring money into secret accounts or deciding to have him send her some of Cipher's restricted information. Gonzap may be the head of Snagem, but he had Admin level access regardless.

His information was worth getting things like the facilities pass codes to most areas, Haruka knew he's not nearly stupid enough to use them before he needed them. Still his information was very interesting. One in particular piqued her interest. Something about a secret initiative to potentially start establishing bases outside of Orre. Specifically, Sinnoh. Which it said that Snattle was spear heading it himself. It wasn't much information she could use for the time being, but at the same time it was still very helpful. As for Snattle's plan, it still looked like it was in the early stages. It mentioned something about interferes from a group calling themselves Team Galactic. More organizations running around in the world. Haruka wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. More criminal groups definitely took a lot of heat off of them, but at the same time it threatened the delicate balance of power. With Rocket and Plasma nixed that meant more territory to grab, but Kanto and Johto were both pretty no go with their champion and gym leaders protecting the region from exactly those kinds of threats.

Haruka is so fixated on her work that she had filled her office with even more parts and devices. Her new glasses were coming along well, but now her mind began to wonder if maybe she could upgrade the snag machines. They were already very large and cumbersome mechanisms. If she made an upgraded, sleeker model than even the versions two's then the admins would be overjoyed with her. Especially Dakim and Miror B. This would help out Ryoko and Mei too.

She grabbed a notebook and immediately starts sketching up designs. She wanted to make them as compact and compartmentalized as possible, so the size of a glove would be the best solution. She'd also cut down the size and form factor for the glasses and her power supply was more than enough for that. Issue was that energizing a Snag Ball required more energy, plus required being used sometimes multiple times in a row. Which the current models already suffered from a cool down time due to their power consumption. In the end this all boiled down to one thing. Haruka needed to take a trip to Gateon Port to get some of the necessary parts she needed.

Haruka was not the only one hard at work though. Wes found himself up to his neck in work too, thanks to recent developments.

"Why am I doing all the work?" He groaned as he moved around rundown machines and scrap metal.

Ebony sat to the side and watched Wes work. She enjoyed the view as well. Due to the scorching heat and lack of air conditioning Wes had to work shirtless or else risk hear stroke. "You couldn't really expect me to get all hot and sweaty doing manual labor did you?" Ebony did have at least a somewhat legitimate excuse. Wes was still too chivalrous for his own good.

Cary did not quite have the same excuse, "I'll say it. I'm just lazy." He laughed as Ryoko was working his hardest. "We need to make room for the kids. Come on Wes, you were the one who suggested they stuck with us after the whole Cipher raid."

"Yeah, but I didn't say I'd do all the work." He groaned as he continued working nonstop. "Seriously, a little help would be appreciated." Wes didn't feel like he was asking for much. Just a hand moving some of the things for the kids.

While Wes was hard at work Nett and Megg walked up and caught Ebony's eye. "Alright Wes, you're finished for now." She had him stop what he was doing and took a small scrap of paper from the kids. "Will this be all you need?" She asked in her usual calm and sensual tone.

"Yeah, this should be enough for right now. Mr. Takumi said we can't generate a lot of power here so we have to start off small." After Wes tossed Nett's infected system into the depths of The Under it made it a bit harder for him to work.

"Alright, we'll have Wes grab everything you need." Yet another menial task dumped right into Wes's lap. "Isn't that right Wes?" Ebony gave him a coy smile, knowing Wes can't really say no. Being the only one with a vehicle and all.

"Yeah, I'll help them out. Not like I'm doing anything else." He glared at Ebony.

She smiled sweetly, "No need to be bitter dear." She hands Wes his shirt and jacket.

Wes stared silently and got dressed. He grabbed the list and read it over thoroughly. He notices all the different computer parts and wonders if maybe Nett should join him, but at the same time Wes couldn't risk his safety. Plus, he needed the side car for all the parts. "Alright, I'll head to Gateon Port to get all this. I'm sure someone there will be able to help."

Nett spoke up, "Check around junk stores and second hand dealers. We don't need brand new parts. Money's probably really tight for you all." He felt bad for putting them out so much.

Wes smiled, "It's fine, you don't have to worry about that." Wes reassured him.

He packed up his things, grabbed the list, and headed out. Little did he know there was a less than pleasant surprise awaiting him in Gateon Port.

Haruka pulled into the port city. It was a lovely place to visit, unlike virtually anywhere else in the region. This place was very calm and serene. Plus, the ocean winds made the weather a lot more bearable.

Haruka's first stop was her tried and trust junk shop. She could and has easily spend hours there scouring for parts that she could use in the all of her projects and devices. One man's trash was certainly her treasure. She even gone as far as building mini super computers out of scrap parts just thrown out by previous owners. Ryoko often joked about her obsession with all things technological. Joking that he's worried she may just build a robot boyfriend one of these days. Haruka loved technology, but they'd never be a substitute for Ryoko.

The second she walked in the store owner greeted her, "Hey Haruka, it's been a while." An older man with a gruff voice stands behind the counter with several scrapped parts. All around him were huge tubs full of parts, all labelled accordingly. "Come in for anything in particular?"

Haruka walked up to the counter and leaned up against it. "I'm looking for mini energy cells. Something that'll hold a large charge with a small form factor. Have anything like that?"

The old man nodded, "Yeah, of course, but what are you powering?" He wondered what crazy idea was floating around in that head of hers now.

"I want something small that could power a Snag Machine. I'm still testing out the idea, but the cell needs to be able to be used at least a dozen times or so before draining. A rechargeable cell would be best too, otherwise the device is far too impractical." She gives him a rough idea of her end goal.

"You know you'd probably have better luck looking for newer parts at one of the other stores, but I think I have a few options for you." The man stepped out from behind the counter and walked to a container filled with batteries and power cells. He pulled out one rather new looking one. The size was small to Haruka's specification and flat like a coin. "It's a newer battery that lasts about as long as more tradition cells so it'll most likely serve you well on charge and form factor, but I know your Snag Machines basically have huge power banks strapped to them so I don't know how long this will last."

Haruka examines it, "Well it's a start anyway. Cipher wasn't built in a day." She loved coming here first and foremost, because a lot of people don't realize what they had when they scrapped parts. So Haruka usually lucked out and found what are normally really expensive parts for dirty cheap. Sure they may be used, but that didn't make much different for Haruka since she mostly built prototypes.

From behind Haruka the door opened as another customer walked in. "Hello, welcome." The store owner greeted.

"Hey," Wes walked in and headed to the owner, "I'm looking for some parts to build a computer." Wes handed off the list.

Haruka looked out of the corner of her eye and gave a brief, sly grin. She knew the second she glimpsed at him that was Wes of the rebellion. What she didn't understand was why he needed a computer. Though as she thought about it she began to put two and two together. No doubt they were now protecting the Kids Grid. What really made this perfect for Haruka was the fact that Ryoko didn't know her from anyone.

"This is a pretty rudimentary build. Most new computers are a bit more advanced than this." Nett's specifications were cheap and outdated. For cost and ease of use.

"My friend just gave me the list. He needs a computer for programming and this is how he wanted it made. I'm no expert, just the guy with the vehicle." Wes confessed.

"Well this might be tough scrounging up the parts." The owner looked over list more thoroughly.

Then Haruka saw her chance to step in. "Let me see that list." Haruka peered over the counter to get a better look. "Wow, that's a budget build if I've ever seen one. I'm guessing your programmer friend is on a tight budget?" Haruka teased.

"You could say that." Wes shrugged, not wanting to admit that they all were.

"Here, I can help with this one." She grabbed the list and start sorting through bins. "For starters, this case will do nicely, plenty cheap so don't worry." The case she pulled out was old and a bit dirty, but not a big deal.

"Good to know." Wes opened up the empty case and looked at it.

"Next the motherboard, I'm assuming he's a fan of this model in particular. Don't blame him, it's a classic." Haruka grabbed the exact model at first glance. "Processor's a bit outdated, but I'm sure it's because of the chipset he wants. Thankfully, there's a newer model that's better and just as cheap nowadays."

"I take it she's a regular?" Wes asked the owner as Haruka shopped for him.

The man laughed, "Yeah Haruka's always been a bit of a tech geek. She's been coming here since she was a little girl."

"Well at least I've got an expert's opinion." Wes was relieved to have the help.

Haruka picked out all the parts and went to work installing them. "I might as well put it all together for you while we're at it." Haruka came with her own bag full of tools and gadgets. She went right to work installing the parts, but what they didn't see was what she was doing while hooking up the power supply. She unscrewed a few screws and lifted the top. She grabbed a small chip and wired it into the power supply and quickly closed it up, before securing the power unit. "All done. Next up in the Operating System." Haruka checked out the list.

"They said they had an install drive already so we don't need one." Wes helped bring the computer up onto the table. "Thanks a lot. This was a big help. Now what will this run me?"

The owner looked at Haruka's handy work and smirked. "Frankly Haruka's improvements and your outdated list are of parts are all pretty much things I can't give away." He wrote down the total cost and surprised Wes.

"Wow, that's next to nothing." He is more than happy to pay that price. "Thank you, Haruka. I'm sure my friend will be surprised." Wes was also happy he didn't have to break bank on a new computer.

Haruka gave Wes a warm and genuine smile. "My pleasure." She just left out the details about her _slight _modification. "I'm sure it'll work well for you, make sure you take good care of it." With that Wes showed himself out.

"That was a lot of fun for you, I'm sure." The owner smirked.

"You know me too well." Haruka's X-Transceiver began to ring. "Oh, I'll be right back." She stepped out of the store and into the alley. "You have some nerve calling me now." She said coldly to the caller.

"Well it's nice talking to you too Haruka." Gonzap replied. "I was wonder why you were dragging your feet on getting us the information we wanted.

"I'm taking my time, because I don't want to get caught. I can't drop everything to start snooping through our systems. People will notice and I'd get caught. Besides, I think I may be getting some information worth its weight in gold." She kept that secret under wraps for now though.

"I do hope you're right." Gonzap hung up.

Haruka rolled her eyes and headed back inside.

Wes, quite pleased with his luck, returned to the rebel hideout with the new computer in hand. "I'm back," he sat down the build.

Nett looked at it and examined it thoroughly. "Impressive, where did you learn to build computers?"

"Some woman at the junk shop built it. She even made some improvements on your list and saved us a ton of money." As Wes explained this, Nett opened up the case and looked at the parts.

"Wow, this is a lot better. Was this one of the employees?" Nett asked.

"No, just another customer. One of their regulars named Haruka." Wes saying this caught the attention of Cary and Ebony.

"What did this Haruka chick look like Wes?" Cary was the first to ask.

He shrugged, "Well she's definitely native to Orre, name, complex, and all. Bright blue eyes, short black hair, and pretty tall. Like a couple inches shorter than me." Wes being six foot tall.

"Is this her?" a folder lands on ground before Wes's feet. Takumi stands stoically in front of them all.

"Takumi." Wes paused and looked at a picture of Haruka, Ryoko, and one other that made Wes's heart sink like a rock. The third in the picture, unsurprisingly, was Mei. "She works for Team Cipher."

Cary elaborates further. "Wow, you had a computer built by _that _Haruka." He laughed. "Dude, she's an elite agent. One of the top members of Cipher's R&amp;D, a genius, and a total babe." Cay at least hit on the important details.

"Well at least she doesn't know I'm with the rebellion. Otherwise she would have probably tried to arrest me like Mei always does." Wes still couldn't believe how quickly his good luck turned to misfortune.

Ebony frowned, "Sweep it for bugs." She didn't want to take the risk. Ebony had a sinking suspicion that Haruka may not have done that out of good faith alone. She wasn't about to risk it either.

After a thorough check, Nett and Perr could both confirm there were no bugs to speak up. Except neither thought to dismantle the power supply. Without any thought given to this critical detail, they powered on the computer and began setting up their operating system.

Meanwhile, back in Haruka's office. She was tinkering with some parts while passively watching her screen. She paused when she saw the first ping. Right as their computer sprung to life. Haruka immediately began typing furious. She smiled and then began to laugh as she looked at her computer. On screen was a map with the exact coordinates of the rebel's hideout. Her tracking device worked perfectly.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the story, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well things are definitely in motion. We'll more into the story starting next year, since next week will be Tia's Tales, and the following will be Shadow Destiny's Christmas Special chapter. Hope you look forward to that and look forward to plenty more Pokemon Sagas in 2016.


	18. Christmas Special

Christmas Special

'Twas the day before Christmas and all throughout Orre not Pokemon-

"Doctor, we've been walking for hours! I'm dying of thirst here!" Dawn whined, interrupting the intro.

"Oh come now, it's not that bad. Besides you said you wanted to feel the sand between your toes." The Doctor insisted this was her idea.

"Yeah, but I meant like the beaches of Undella Town, Slateport City, or Dewford Island. Not the burning sands of Orre. This is the worst vacation ever!" Dawn had already ridded herself of her scarf and hat, but her deep blue hair still caused her to sweat quite a lot. "I'm dying of thirst." She continued to whine.

"Now where's your Christmas spirit Dawn? It's not Christmas everyday. I mean it could be if we chose to, but then that'd get a bit boring now wouldn't it? Travelling from one Christmas to another. It'd get a bit maddening if you ask me. Imagine how much we'd have to spend in gifts." The Doctor is surprisingly unbothered by the blistering heat.

"I just want to find a town soon. This is killing me." She tugged at her shirt trying to air herself out. Dawn was despite for some water and cool air. She had no idea how the Doctor could stand this blistering heat, but he just continued along blissfully ignorant to the intense heat.

The Doctor looked ahead, "Ha, I knew it. There's a city right over there!" He excitedly pointed to a city in the distance. Its white walls were like that of a jewel in the desert.

Dawn didn't get her hopes up however. "If this is another mirage I'm just going to bury my head in the sand and wait for my untimely end."

"Oi, there's no need for that. I know that's a city. I can practically smell it." The Doctor ran off gleefully.

"Smell it?" Dawn tried keeping up with his pace. "How can you smell a city?" She was pretty sure he had to be lying.

"Very carefully!" He shouted back. "Well let's get a move on. Allons-y!"

The pristine gem of a city was none other than Phenac City and where this tale truly begins.

Everyone in Cipher was getting ready for the holidays and the arrival of Santa Claus. Three agents in particular were quite excited to celebrate the holidays. Haruka set up decorations around the base. Stockings, Christmas wreaths, and plenty more to get into the holiday spirit. Mei decorated a large Christmas tree with dozens of ornaments that really made the tree come to life. While Ryoko hung garlands, bells, tinsel, and more.

He stepped off the ladder as Haruka walked by and held her in his arms. "I'm glad Mika let you come home for the holidays." Haruka said peacefully in her boyfriend's embrace.

"No kidding, it feels like Halloween just happened too, weird." Ryoko recalls the last holiday fondly and was happy to celebrate once more with those closest to him. "Anyway, look what we're under." He said with a coy smile and pointed up. Above was, of course, mistletoe. Haruka gave him a coy grin in return and kissed Ryoko.

"Tree's all done." Mei stepped off a ladder and marvels at her work. The tree stood several feet tall and was decorated from top to bottom with ornaments. She plugged in the tree and lit up the whole room. "Beautiful." She was quite satisfied with her work.

Haruka and Ryoko marveled at it as well. "It sure is." Haruka looked up at the star atop the tree. This really put them in the Christmas spirit. "I love the holidays."

Ryoko nodded, "It's a wonderful time of the year. Maybe someday we can go somewhere with actual snow. Make it feel like an authentic Christmas." He knew this was more or less an over exaggeration since many parts of the world don't get snow like Orre. Still Ryoko wouldn't mind getting away from Orre without it being about work, even if it were for only a day.

"Now all we have to do is wait for Santa to come." Yes, even Team Cipher agents eagerly awaited the coming of Santa Claus. Corrupt organization or not, they too could still take time off to enjoy the holidays with friends and family.

"My, you three did an absolutely splendid job decorating this year! It puts a real holly, jolly spring in my step." Miror B. walked in full of Christmas glee and a very exaggerated red and green Christmas sweater. "Trudly and Folly don't have nearly the eye for decorating that you three posses. It makes my heart sing!" Miror B. skips off.

"I swear, he's even more annoying during the holidays." Ryoko rolled his eyes and finished up the last bit of decorating. The three are interrupted by a ringing at the door. "Wait, since when did we have a doorbell?" Ryoko did not recall there being a door bell anywhere on the exterior of the base.

Ryoko went to answer the door. "Trick or treat." A very excitable man stands at the door in a brown coat with a girl behind him.

"Um, Halloween's over buddy. You're not in costume either. So I don't know what you're trying to pull here." Ryoko is more than a little confused by the man's act. As well as his equally unusual accent.

"Well that's a shame isn't it. I do love dressing up for Halloween, but I guess I'll settle for Christmas. Maybe one of these years it'll actually be snowing." The man walked right past Ryoko and let himself in.

"Hey, I didn't let you in." Ryoko grabbed him by the collar. "Who are you anyway?"

The girl groaned, "He we go."

"Why, I'm the Doctor." The Doctor happily responded. Knowing his favorite part was coming up.

Haruka interjected, "Doctor Whom?"

Strange music being performed on a Theremin began playing in the background before halting, followed by the sound of a needle scratching record. "No, no that's not it." The Doctor complained. Dawn smiled triumphantly.

Haruka corrected him, "Yes it is. Whom is proper grammar."

The Doctor protested further. "No, you're supposed to say Doctor Who, the music plays, and everyone gets a good laugh out of it. That's how it works."

"You are absolutely insane." Haruka said quite bluntly.

"I am mad, there is a difference. Anyway, it's Christmas! Point me in the direction of the egg nog." The Doctor headed for what he only assumes is the kitchen.

"Why are you here?" Ryoko shouted angrily. "This is a base of Team Cipher. Civilians are not allowed in here without special permission. Get out!"

Dawn finally pleaded, "I'm sorry, he's not very patient. We've been wondering out in the desert for hours and we're really thirsty. All we need is something to drink, then I'm sure he'll leave. If not, I'll drag him out."

Haruka sympathized with Dawn. "Okay, there's no harm in getting them a drink. I'll be right back." Haruka ran to the kitchen to get them drinks.

Meanwhile, the Doctor had stopped to admire the Christmas tree. "This is a beautifully decorated tree right here."

Mei smiled, "Thanks, I'm happy with how it turned out. Anyway who are you?" He still hadn't given them a proper answer.

"I'm the Doctor. I'm a time traveler." He said quite casually.

"A time traveler?" Mei was now more concerned that the desert heat may have fried his brain. "Haruka hurry up with that water. I think this one's going insane."

"I said I'm mad. Not insane." He tried justifying, but Mei did not believe him. Rather she believed he was both insane and mad like he'd claimed.

"I have bottled water." Haruka handed them both their drinks.

"Thank you." Dawn opened up the bottle and took a large drink. "I feel alive again." She couldn't be more thankful.

"So where are you people from?" Haruka asked.

"Sinnoh," Dawn said.

"Gallifrey." The Doctor also responded.

"Never heard of Gallifrey. Where is that?" Ryoko was now more curious.

"In space." The Doctor further clarifies.

"Space?" Ryoko walked over to Haruka and patted her on the back. "I'm tapping out. You're in." He stepped outside. "_What is going on here_?" Ryoko asked himself and shook his head. It was as if this were some lazy excuse to shoe horn in a character well known for being associated with Christmas special.

Though Ryoko suddenly found himself distracted by another oddity. He saw off in the distance a bizarre sight. It was the sight of what looked like a flying sleigh being chased by several vehicles across the desert landscape.

Ryoko quickly ran back inside. "Guys there's something weird going on outside." Ryoko quickly grabbed a pair of binoculars and ran back outside. He looked at the sight and sure enough there were several vehicles chasing after a Delibird in a flying sleigh, being pulled by eight Winter Form Sawsbuck. "What on earth am I looking at?"

"Oh is that Santa Bird?" The Doctor recognized the shape.

"Wait, Santa's a Delibird?" Something didn't add up in Haruka's mind. She was always led to believe he was a jolly, fat man with a white beard and red outfit.

"Yeah, that seemed to put Tia through a ringer last Christmas as well." The Doctor casually shattered the fourth way.

"So many questions." Ryoko pinched the bridge of his nose. "Anyway, we have to stop them from catching Santa Delibird ruining Christmas."

"And that's where I come in. Allons-y!" The Doctor happily jaunted off.

"Wait, we'll never catch them on foot. Ryoko, get a truck." Haruka chased after the Doctor. Dawn was close in tow, trying to make sure the Doctor didn't do anything too ridiculous. Though, wherever they went it seemed bizarre events seemed to follow.

The group quickly hopped in a truck with Haruka taking over the wheel. "Hold on tight everyone!" Ryoko buckled up in the passenger seat while Mei, the Doctor, and Dawn filed into the back. Haruka took off at full speed in pursuit of the mysterious vehicles.

The pursuers of Santa Delibird were an odd bunch in four enormous monster trucks and cavalcade of others. All of which sported a weird stage atop them with giant speakers. The four vehicles had four individuals performing on them respectively.

The first of which was a woman with light lavender hair playing a violin. Her clothes were a matching lavender dress with a long, flowing, pink coat that also seemed like a cape. A style choice very foreign to Orre Region. Bizarre even when considering Miror B. outlandish taste in fashion. The second was a man with light blue hair and a deep blue trench coat over a pink t-shirt and jeans whom played drums. Thirdly was a man, a little younger than the first man, with a similar hair style and an all white coat accent by red flames at the bottom. He played an intense, but soothing base guitar solo. Finally, in a man dressed in all black rocking out on the electric guitar leading the chase against Santa Delibird.

"Who are these clowns? They're not with us." Ryoko certainly didn't recognize the renegade musicians or their equally tacky looking lackeys. Haruka drove up alongside them with Ryoko shouting up at the woman on violin. "Who are you guys and why are you attacking Santa Delibird?"

The woman looked down at Ryoko as she continued playing. "I am Tiffany, one of the four admins of the Go-Rock Squad." The other members cheer as the drove her mobile stage atop their monster truck. "We're tired of that Delibird never bring us gifts so we're going to capture him and keep all his gifts all to ourselves." She selfishly explained.

Mei looked in confusion. "Terrible and childish. What is wrong with you people?" She couldn't believe an entire group of people would be motivated by such a childish and immature motivation.

"Yeah the Orre Region doesn't need a dastardly group running like you folks." The Doctor exclaimed.

"That's right, you're in Team Cipher territory!" Mei proudly proclaimed.

The Doctor cocked his head. "Wait, _you're_ the bad guys? Wow, really misjudge that one. Anyway, not important right now." The Doctor focused on the matter at hand.

"We're not the bad guys." Mei tried to defend, but even she couldn't really deny it. "Okay, but at least not trying to capture Santa."

"We don't care who you are. You're not going to get in our way!" Tiffany instructed her men to ram into the side of their truck. Haruka quickly evaded, but started losing control as they were forced towards a large sand dune. "Do you really think your one little truck will stop the four of us?" Tiffany laughed as she continued playing her violin flawlessly.

Haruka got on a radio and communicated to other agents. "Attention all Cipher agents a group of music themed criminals are hunting down Santa Delibird in giant monster trucks with stages on top of them. We require immediate back up. Heading West to Pyrite as well speak. I cannot make this crap up." Sent the call out to every available agent to help back them up. Now all they could do was try their best to fight them off and wait for backup. They would get backup, but not they kind they were expecting.

Meanwhile, it was Christmas time in the rebellion's secret base and Wes was aiding the Kids Grid in decorating a small Christmas Tree. They hung stocks on the walls and ornaments on the tree, waiting for good, old Santa Claus to pay them a visit.

The kids all had Santa hats as well as green and red outfit. Ebony in a festive green and red dress. While Cary fully embraced the yule tide by dressing in a Santa Claus costume. "Ho ho ho, and all that." He didn't try to imitate Santa's voice. "Ah Come on Wes ya gotta at least wear something festive."

"I don't really dress up." Wes said coolly. He was fine with the way he was dressed. Plus, Cary had to be dying in all those layers. "At least you're going all out." He looked at Cary's belt and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why is there mistletoe hanging from your belt buckle?"

"It's for the ladies." He winked. Flashing a cheeky grin under his long, white beard.

Wes rolled his eyes. "Really, in front of the kids? Besides, what ladies? Ebony is the only woman here."

"Did I hear my name?" Ebony sauntered over in her Christmas regalia. She looks down at the Mistletoe around Cary's belt. "Cute," she smirked, "but now is not the time." Wes would argue that's terribly inappropriate in any situation. At least they were getting in the Christmas spirit.

Bitt came running inside. "Guys something's going on outside." Ebony, Cary, and Wes ran outside with him. Wes produced binoculars from his bike, Wes examined the sight. "It looks like some people are chasing some flying thing." Bitt explained

Wes confirmed this, "It's a sleigh being pulled by eight Winter Form Sawsbuck. Inside's a Delibird." He does a double take. "_The hell?_" This was beyond reason for him.

Megg ran out, "They're attacking Santa Delibird?" She whimpered, saying this like it were common knowledge.

"Wait, Santa Claus is a Delibird?" Much like everyone else, this throws Wes through a loop. "Did you guys know that?"

Ebony shrugged, "News to me. I didn't actually think he was real. Who's chasing him?"

Wes looked again at the strange outfits and the even more outlandish outfits. "Whoever they are. They're not Cipher."

"You sure?" Ebony wanted to confirm this. It didn't make sense that it _wasn't_ Cipher anyway.

"Yeah, looks like a Cipher vehicle is chasing after them." He gets a closer look. "_Of course it would be her._" Wes groaned.

"Your girlfriend one of the people chasin'em?" Cary joked.

"Shut up, but yes Mei is there. Haruka and the other agent that raided the rebel hideout outside of Pyrite." Wes noticed two others as well. "Weird, the other two don't look like agents. A girl and a man in a trench coat." He noticed the Doctor and Dawn.

"Either way, we have to protect Santa Delibird." Ebony got oddly spirited about this. "Get your motorcycle. We'll have to step in ourselves." Wes ran over and started up his motorcycle and picked up Ebony. "Go Swellow." Ebony called out her Flying Normal Type to aid them.

Cary pulled up alongside in a truck as well. "Where did you get that?" Wes did not recall them having one of those.

"Don't worry about it. Go Braviary." Cary sped off towards the site of all the calamity. Wes and Ebony not far behind. Wes was able to navigate a bit smoother on his motorcycle then Cary's truck.

Back at the scene the others were still in hot pursuit. Ryoko had called out his Metagross for support, but the monster trucks continued to try and slam into the side of them. "You interlopers are really starting to test my patience." Tiffany took her violin and turned her attention towards three Camerupt. From her violin came an odd spinner that flew out and circled the wild Pokemon. It circled them and seemed to tame them.

"What was that?" Both vehicles hauled when Tiffany stopped to capture the Pokemon. "Go Sharpedo. Help Metagross." Haruka called out a Pokemon of her own to aid in battle.

Tiffany happily answered Haruka's question, "This is my Capture Styler, a special build known as a Super Styler. With this I can capture any wild Pokemon I sent my sights on. Now attack Camerupt!" She ordered her newly obtained Pokemon to attack. The three Camerupt all attack with an Eruption.

"Surf Sharpedo!" Haruka knew a bunch of Camerupt couldn't stand up to her Sharpedo's Surf with a four times weakness to Water Type attacks.

"Metagross Meteor Mash that monster truck!" Metagross charged forward, but Tiffany and the Go-Rock agents peel out before Metagross could connect. "Continue chasing them!" Ryoko shouted.

As their pursuit continued the rebels pulled up alongside them. "What's going on here?" Wes begrudging came to Cipher's aid. Common enemy or not it still bothered him.

"Wes?" Mei was far from happy to see him.

"We're chasing after some people called the Go-Rock Squad trying to capture Santa Delibird. Isn't Christmas great?" The Doctor said cheerfully.

"Who are you?" Wes asked, because he stood out even amongst the Cipher agents.

"I'm the Doctor." He extended a hand out to shake, but Wes's hands were otherwise occupied steering his motorcycle.

"Doctor-" Wes is suddenly cut off by Dawn.

"We don't have time for this!" She shouted in frustration.

"We need to divide and conquer. Wes, I'll hop in the truck with Cary." Ebony purposed. The rebels slowed down and Ebony quickly swapped vehicles. "We'll take that one." She pointed to the monster truck with the drummer. "You help Cipher with the Violinist then aim for the bass player. I have a feeling the electric guitarist is in charge. Once we take out the other three then we can converge on the fourth." Ebony displayed a surprising amount of strategic insight and comes up with a very solid plan.

"Got it. I don't like that I have to help Cipher, but it's for Santa." Wes looked to the sky as Santa Delibird's sleigh tried to shake off the Go-Rock Squad.

Wes took off towards Cipher and Tiffany while Ebony and Cary took on another one of the monster trucks. "Espeon." He called out his Espeon who sat in the side cart. "Use Psychic on the truck." Espeon took aim while Wes drove steadily. Espeon unleashed a wave of psychic energy at the truck causing them to lose control.

"Alright, have Metagross get that truck." Haruka ordered. Metagross was already one step ahead. His giant metal arm collided with the engine and absolutely crushed the front end with a brutal Meteor Mash.

"No! My ride! You'll pay for this!" Tiffany shouted as the group drove off to the next monster truck. "Garret, there are some punks coming after you." She warned one of her associates in advance.

The bassist received her distress call and looked back. They were fast approaching. "Got it sis, don't worry." He uses his bass Super Styler to capture three nearby Scizor as the grunts used Capture Stylers to capture Rhyhorn. The kept moving, leaving the Pokemon to guard them.

As they approached Mei stood up and pointed to the group of Rhyhorn. She called her Pokemon too. "Slowking use Scald!" Slowking sprayed boiling hot water at the Rhyhorn to clear a path.

Espeon hopped out of the side cart and aimed another Psychic. This didn't stop them however. A horde of the Rhyhorn charged at the truck. "Crap, Mei hold tight!" Haruka had to turn on a dime to avoid the Rhyhorn, but she couldn't warn Mei in time. Mei goes flying from the vehicle.

"Mei!" Ryoko cried out, hoping to grab her in time, but she was too far out of reach for him.

Thankfully, where Ryoko was just out of her reach, Wes was close enough to retrieve her. As Mei flew from the truck Wes swerved to the side and caught Mei in the side cart of his motorcycle. It wasn't a graceful landing, but she safe nonetheless. "You know they have seat belts for a reason." He quickly picked up speed to match Haruka's driving. "Another Psychic Espeon."

"Shut up, I didn't ask you to catch me. Slowking Scald again!" She was glad she didn't collide with the ground, but she wasn't entirely happy with who saved her either.

"Whatever, next time maybe I'll let you fall." Wes of course didn't mean this, as much as he wishes he did.

"Whatever, just keep up." She groaned and adjusted herself in her seat.

"Yeah," Wes looked over at Haruka and Ryoko, "we need to stop that truck!" He shouted back to them.

"I think I've got an idea." Dawn finally spoke up. She pulled out a Pokeball. "Go Mamoswine!" She called out her giant Ice Type. "Use Ice Beam on the wheels!" Mamoswine charged forward and fired off an Ice Beam right at the axle of the front wheel. Completely locking it in place. The truck narrowly falls over, but steadies itself. Still, it wasn't going anywhere.

Garret growled, "Don't think you'll win that easy. Go Scizor!" He sends out all of his Pokemon.

"Go Klank!" The Doctor sent out his own Pokemon into the fray. "Give them a Thunder Shock." Klank flew ahead and zapped one of the Scizor with a decent amount of damage. "I'm still getting use to this whole battling thing." The Doctor wasn't nearly as experienced as Dawn was.

"Earthquake Mamoswine." Dawn knew they needed to damage them as a whole more

that just individually.

"Sharpedo use Aqua Jet!" Haruka channeled her attacks on one like the Doctor however.

"Ice Punch Metagross!" Ryoko switched it up, because Meteor Mash wasn't going to cut it again Scizor.

Mei and Wes both finished off the remainder of the Rhyhorn. They then turned their attention back to the Scizor in a concentrated effort to finish them all off. Garret's team finally goes down. Taking out yet another one of the Go-Rock admins. "Crap bro, Tiff and I are down. It's up to you now Clyde."

A voice relays back to him. "Sorry Garret, they got me too." Clyde hated to admit. "It's all up to Billy, but I bet he's got an ace or two up his sleeve."

The plan went exactly how Ebony expected. The two groups converged on the final truck. Billy, the leader of the whole operation had no choice. Smaller trucks flew past as he instructed his men to keep tailing Santa Delibird. His truck finally came to a halt. Billy finally spoke up. "So you're planning to stop me? My siblings are one thing, but I am the strongest of the four. With the strongest Super Styler." He riffs his guitar and uses the Styler to catch Six Tyranitar.

"How do all these Pokemon just happen to be around when you use these things?" Haruka admitted this was a bit too convenient. Either way, they weren't going to let Billy win. "Alright Sharpedo, give those Tyranitar a Waterfall." A huge pillar of water comes crashing down on the Tyranitar, but they stood strong.

Meanwhile Ryoko utilized Metagross's normal effectiveness to Dark Types to his advantage. "Run in and use Zen Headbutt!" Metagross flew in and tackled a Tyranitar head on with a powerful Zen Headbutt. Absolutely crushing it and sent it flying back. The insane amount of power Ryoko's Metagross hand really shined through.

Billy growled, "Don't think this is all we've got." Looks off in the distance and sees a surprising sight. "Just in time." He sends off his Super Styler to catch three more Pokemon. Off in the distance, hearing the calamity, came the legendary Pokemon Entei, Suicune, and Raikou.

"Where the hell did they come from?" Haruka cried out as Raikou leaped into the fray and fried Sharpedo. "Well this got a bit more difficult."

"Dawn are those legendary Pokemon?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes Doctor, we have to use them now." The situation looked bleak now, but Dawn and the Doctor had a plan.

"Alright, go Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All." He proudly declared. The ridiculous nickname took the group by surprise, but the actual Pokemon was even more surprising. Dialga emerged from the Pokeball with a mighty roar that almost seemed to warp time around it.

"Go Palkia!" Dawn called out the legendary Pokemon of Space alongside the legendary Pokemon of Time.

"Dialga and Palkia!" Ryoko's jaw dropped.

"Actually she prefers Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All. Also, Dialga is a she." The Doctor clarified.

"How do you know that?" Haruka protested.

"I speak Pokemon." He said, but no one, not even Dawn believed this.

"Doctor!" Dawn got his attention so he'd focus.

"Right, Stormy use Roar of Time." Dialga stomped the grounded and roared. The roar rippled through the air, distorting time around them and blasted the legendary beasts back.

"Spacial Rend!" Palkia flew forward and slashed the air around the trio creating a rift in space dealing a massive amount of damage to the other legends.

"Where did they get legendary Pokemon?" Mei asked as she watched in awe at the feats of the two legendary Pokemon.

"We need to lend them a hand." Wes said, though they had the situation pretty well handled, there was still the Tyranitar to worry about. "Espeon Return!"

"Shut up, I know." Mei said sourly. "Scald!" Mei and Wes double team of the final Tyranitar into submission, releasing them from the control of the Super Styler.

"No, our perfect plan to capture Santa is ruined!" Billy could only watch in horror as the trio were one by one beat down by Dialga and Palkia. Until finally, the legendary beasts were subdued and freed of the Super Styler's controls.

Ryoko walked up to him as Billy climbed off his monster truck in defeat. "So what exactly was your plan here? Why capture Delibird and steal all the toys or the good girls and boys in the first place."

Billy whined, "We were tired of never getting gifts from Santa so we came up with this plan so we could finally have the Christmas we wanted."

Wes pulled up and hopped off, "Christmas isn't able to presents. It's about being with family and those you care about." He explained.

"Save it for the Hallmark cards Wes. What you guys were doing was idiotic. Didn't you get each other gifts? So what's the problem?" Mei stared him down, despite him still dwarfing her in size. "So I don't want to hear it. You're all a family. That's more than most of us can say. We have no family outside of Cipher. That doesn't mean we go around stealing from other people." Mei showed them the error of their ways.

"Don't steal from others?" Wes pointed out. "You hypocrite! Your organization steals from everyone whether it be stealing their property, freedom, or Pokemon. _You're_ ten times worse than the Go-Rock Squad!" They may have helped save Christmas, but Wes was not wrong.

Haruka spoke up, "I mean, he's not wrong. We're all criminals here. Still, trying to ruin Christmas will not stand. Say you're sorry."

"I'm sorry." Billy sank to his knees and lowered his head in shame.

"There, all is forgiven." Haruka said plainly.

"Wait, that's it? A slam on the wrist? What lesson did he learn here?" Wes protested.

"It's a Christmas special it's supposed to have a kind hearted message at the end or something like that." Haruka explained.

"Okay, first off other than the whole plot to stop Santa Delibird was the only thing remotely Christmas about this special." Here we go. "Oh the meta narrator is back. That's just wonderful." Wes said sarcastically. "All he learned was he was selfish and greedy to try and stop Christmas. No message of spreading good will or peace on Earth. Nothing about, it's not about giving or receiving, but being with those you care about. Also, why do we have a Christmas special in the first place? Our god is a Pokemon! Living proof right there! The very beings created by Arceus that created Space and Time!" Wes ranted like a madman.

"I think we should go." The Doctor was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable.

"And you!" He pointed to the Billy. "I want to hear a genuine lesson you learned from all this." Wes put him on the hot seat.

"Fine, we abused our power and Pokemon to get what we wanted and that was wrong. I am very sorry, and we won't do it again." Billy now had to truly face the error of his ways.

Wes finally calmed down. "Finally, that's how we resolve this Christmas Special meets Mad Max Fury Road meets Doctor Who Christmas Special." Wes let it all out before taking a deep breath.

"So I guess we cap this off by heading back to Phenac for a Christmas party?" Haruka suggested. Everyone nodded and cheered. "You three are welcome to join us. It is the holidays after all. We can take one day off from being enemies." She kindly extended the offer to the rebels.

"Sure, why not?" Ebony agreed, as did Cary and Wes.

So they all returned to the city as they watched Delibird fly free through the air to deliver gifts to the good girls and boys. The sight they returned to was a merry and cheerful one indeed. All the Cipher agents were outside for Cipher's annual Christmas grill out. They all join in the festive merriment and wish each other good cheer and well wishes. Despite being enemies they set their differences aside to spread the holiday cheer.

The tradition that confused the rebels however. "Why a Christmas grill out?" Wes asked.

Mei shrugged and grabbed a burger. "We gotta do something with all the coal we get every year." They took their food inside the base and got to talking. "You know, I hate admitting it, but you were right back there."

"About your organization being filled with monsters?" Wes snidely replied.

"No, jackass, about the true meaning of Christmas and all that garbage." Mei said.

"Yeah, that's what I said, true meaning of Christmas and all that garbage. Glad you cared so much to remember what I said." Wes rolled his eyes.

"Will you shut up for five seconds? God!" Mei wasn't anymore pleased to be in his company. "What I mean is you had a point. It's the values that are most important. Not material possessions. I think more people should understand that." Mei gave him a glimpse of a smile for a brief second.

"Oh look who's under the mistletoe." Cary obnoxiously pointed out.

Mei and Wes both look at each other with bright red cheeks and stunned expressions. "Screw it, this isn't canon anyway." Wes leaned down and planted a kiss on Mei's lips. She reciprocated it by not pulling away, but also holding the kiss.

The kiss broke and Mei looked into Wes's eyes. "People aren't going to start shipping us now are they?" She asked a very strange question.

Wes shook his head, "I doubt enough people care about the series to even think about shipping the characters. Look at the numbers. Tia's Tales still get higher numbers week per week even when it's our turn to update." This is true.

"Wow, really pulled back the curtain with that one." Mei wasn't sure how to feel about that. "Anyway, this has been an experience. I can't wait until we go back to being enemies and acting like this never happened. I can't believe we kissed again." Canon or not.

"Well, until then. Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and have a happy New Year." Wes looked at everyone around him as he said this.

When the gang wasn't looking the Doctor and Dawn stepped out. "Yet another Christmas saved. Until the next one then I suppose. So were to now? Dewford Island, Lilycove City, maybe Undella Town?" The Doctor was going to give Dawn the gift of the tropical retreat she wanted.

"How about Undella Town? I bet it's great this time of year." Dawn said excitedly. Then Dawn pulled out a small gift wrapped in Pokeball themed gift wrap. "Here Doctor, Merry Christmas." She meekly handed it over to him and blushed.

"Thank you, Dawn." The Doctor said with a cheerful smile. "Merry Christmas to you too." They walked off into the distance with a funny Christmas tale of his own. "Did I tell you about the time I got an old friend of mine named the Master a drum set for Christmas? I remember getting a good laugh out of that one." The Doctor and Dawn laughed as they called out Dialga and Palkia and teleported off.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Also, don't forget to share the stories with your friends. Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and everything else. This was a bit of an odd special, I wanted to do something truly balls crazy, which is why I pulled out the Go-Rock Squad from the Pokemon Rangers title. A weird choice, but one I'm ultimately glad I made. Also, don't worry Dawn and the Doctor won't just be relegated to Christmas specials in the future. Though. those are stories for another day.


	19. Chapter 17: Bleak Upbringings

Chapter 17: Bleak Upbringings

It's been long debated if what Cipher was doing was right or wrong. Some would deem them heinous criminal. Others, revolutionaries. Cipher's systematically integrated they way into every aspect of the Orre Region government and its citizens' daily lives. Cipher's Shadow Pokemon project being their more egregious experiment yet. Though, unbeknownst to the public, Cipher had other experiments that would help ensure their future. A certain program designed around three individuals.

"So these are the kids?" Ein looked into a nursery where two babies laid peacefully.

"Yes sir, we retrieved them from The Under. Both born the same day within hours of one another. The boy was born first." The agent reported.

Ein reads over the records. "Names?" He asked bluntly.

"The boy is Ryoko and the girl is Haruka. Their mothers did not survive the birthing process." The agents continued his report.

"_As per instructed._" Ein noted to himself. "They will be undergoing the same program as agent Mei."

"The three-year-old sir? Might I ask why we wait three years to start this program up again?" The agent didn't have the same level of authority that the admins did, but he was still very high ranked.

"The man who originally spearheaded this initiative had a change of heart shall we say. I and the other admins have decided to once more test this program. We'll watch them grow and develop closely. If we deem their growth successful, then we'll continue the program. The three will naturally replace us as the time comes. If it fails, then we'll have wasted thousands in funding the lives of three agents with little to show for it. So this better not fail or heads will roll." There was a lot of pressure on the success of these three becoming elite agents. Especially for Ein since he was the one who originally proposed reviving the program.

"Have you and the other admins decided who will look after the children?" The agent asked.

Ein nodded, "Yes, Master Greevil himself allowed me to oversee the development of Haruka. I will raise her as a member of Cipher's Research and Development team. Learning about Pokemon, latest technology, as well as engineering. She'll become a scientist just like me and the other lab members." Ein seemed to have put a lot of thought into this already. "With any luck she'll take to it naturally."

The agent sunk his head and spoke somberly, "Yes, I'm sure that was a unanimous decision." He seemed quick to change the topic, "What about the boy?"

"He'll be enrolled in the same program as Mei. Under Dakim and Miror B.'s influence. With any luck both will become top class Snaggers. We also want the three to grow up together in a sense. So the three will have fellow peers and not feel so ostracized from the rest of the agents." A huge part of all of this was a social experiment too. They had to handle the childrens' developments closely or they would, as Ein saw it, result in insufficient agents. As if they were a statistic to him and nothing more. "As such I will closely watch over Haruka as if she were my own flesh and blood." While Ein preferred taking Haruka in as a pseudo-adopted daughter. Miror B. and Gonzap felt the old adage of, it takes a village to raise a child, would best suit Ryoko and Mei's growth.

Over the years Cipher monitored the three closely. By the age of three Ryoko and Haruka were walking and honing their motor skills. The Cipher tested their development by put them under similar tests to Mei. They'd found Mei, who at the time was six, during this period spent more time outside and being physically active. So they tested similar criteria is the toddlers.

One of the fundamental base tests they ran was putting both Ryoko and Haruka in a room filled with toys. Toys of all manners from Pokemon plush dolls, toy tools, bright toys, dull toys, basketballs, football, soccer balls, and everything in between. This was a personality test more than anything.

Ryoko went for a large Aggron plush, a toy designed like a Pokeball, and a lot of red colored toys. He would see how far and high he could throw the Pokeball. As well as handling the Aggron a bit rougher. Not showing immediate aggression, but definitely discern it as a toy and not something he needed to treat tenderly.

Haruka herself grabbed anything with a plastic form and complex shape. Blocks, toy screw drivers, and hammers. As Haruka picked she didn't seem to distinguish color. She grabbed a Skitty doll which was just as pink as a normal Skitty, a Marill doll, and even a small Golem doll. She took the Pokemon and kept them close to her while she banged on the blocks with a hammer and used the screwdrivers.

The whole time the two stayed close to one another. Separating only to pick from the huge pile of toys, but for the remainder of the time the two were never more than five feet away from one another. Favoring the close proximity and even sharing the toys the two had picked out. This further piqued everyone's interests when Ryoko reached for a small, pink brush and playfully brushed Haruka's hair. She reciprocated this with a small smile and let him do so.

Ein walked in the observation room where scientists studied Ryoko and Haruka's every move. "Status report." He spoke with authority and a powerful presence.

"Well everything seems to be occurring as we'd hoped. Haruka took a fixation towards more complex things like tools. While Ryoko is acting more aggressively. Though, we've noticed a few surprisingly results." One of the scientists gives him a full run down.

"I don't like surprises. What happened?" Ein worried the two may be developing abnormal attitudes or interests. Things he's afraid they'd have to single out and prevent if at all possible.

"Nothing mission critical. It's just Ryoko and Haruka are growing closer and fonder of one another. Ryoko even initiating this." He points to Ryoko brushing Haruka's hair. "He's grown very affectionate towards her. Probably due to his limited contact with peers his own age. We've noticed he's developed similar habits with Mei." Ryoko had a habit of clinging to Mei, but oddly less out of dependence and more an act of defense. As if by being with her, he himself felt more confident.

"We may need to limit his contact with them. Too much feminine influence may alter his personality in _unfavorable _ways." Ein scoffed at this thought. He already questioned Miror B. and Dakim's methods, but it was getting the results he wanted. So Ein couldn't hardly complain. "Anything else?" They did say surprises after all.

"Yes, this one's a bit more exciting. Haruka has shown that she doesn't favor one hand over the other. She was operating a screwdriver with her left hand, while precisely swinging a hammer with her right." The scientist explained the odd phenomena.

"Haruka's ambidextrous? Well that's very interesting indeed. A skill like that can no doubt be very useful for a girl like her." Ein and the others still aren't sure about the kids' individual intelligence levels. That will no doubt come later in their development.

Ein did finally get the answer he desired when the kids turned the age of seven. This was their first real test of their intelligence. Ein already had a good idea of Haruka's due to her memory retention and her learning habits. Still he wanted a more concrete answer. Ryoko scored a bit above average, which was to be expected. He was not a genius by any means, but his adaptability in battle simulations, even at his age were better than most. He also possessed a lot of empathy towards others he was close too, but wall off those he didn't care about. A very Cipher mindset for sure.

Haruka was smart as whip. Very clever and intelligent. While Ryoko definitely demonstrated more emotional insight, Haruka was more technically minded. Haruka tried to see every possible solution and outcome to problems she faced. Often times consequences be damned. She scored at a solid IQ of 145. Well into the genius range. Ein was quite pleased to see these results as he continued to nurture her creativity and critical thinking.

Though one thing continued to bother him. Haruka's fondness to Ryoko. The two were not around each as much as when they were infants or toddlers. So when she had the free time Haruka always wanted to spend it with Ryoko, and by extension, Mei. Treated Mei like a sister, while showing large amounts of affection towards Ryoko.

Ryoko was of course the same way. He relationship with Mei grew as well. Ryoko become more outspoken and as a result would side with Mei on almost anything. If anyone crossed her, Ryoko was the first to defend Mei and first to shun them. He grew very protective of her, almost like he was the older sibling. It was this basis that eventually led the two to becoming a powerful team.

The next test Ein had the two undergo was by far their most important. At the age of ten the two were finally ready. They were to receive their first Pokemon. This was a true test of their skills though, because they weren't just given a Pokemon from a professor. No, the two had to choose a Pokemon and use it to catch their own Pokemon. Ein, Miror B., and Dakim were all present to witness this. Ryoko and Haruka were taken to an expansive oasis where wild Pokemon thrived. One of the few places in the Orre Region that they could. The two had one hour to catch a Pokemon.

The two both looked for a while before they stumbled upon a cave. Both had a strong feeling that their best bets were in that cave. The two struck gold, rare Pokemon a plenty. The only question was which ones were they going to choose. Ryoko and Haruka split off to search. Ryoko found himself a Sableye. While Haruka had an extraordinary find in the form of a shiny Beldum. Needless to say Ryoko was quite envious. Though something happened before the two left the cave that day.

Ryoko and Haruka were running out when Haruka suddenly came to stop. Ryoko noticed and stopped instantly. "Come on Haruka. We have to get out of here. Time's almost up." The young Ryoko exclaimed.

Haruka was deep in thought. "Ryoko, our first Pokemon are supposed to be special aren't they?" This was fairly obvious. Any trainer would agree their first Pokemon is one of their most important Pokemon to them.

"I guess so. Why?" Ryoko didn't see Haruka's point of view.

"Then wouldn't it be more special if our first Pokemon were gifts from each other?" Haruka wanted a Pokemon she could treasure, and she thought there's nothing she'd treasure more than a Pokemon given to her by Ryoko.

Ryoko smiled and whole hearted agreed. "You're right." He held out his hand with Sableye's Pokeball. While Haruka offered him Beldum.

"Thank you, Ryoko." She cradled the Pokeball close to her chest and quickly gave Ryoko a peck on the cheek. Ryoko was stunned at first, but quickly ran behind Haruka once he snapped out of it. This was a secret the two shared with no one.

This was the first of many actions that slowly brought the two closer and closer. As much as Ein would try to stop it eventually, one day, four years later it would all come to a head. Ein was in his office as usual. Haruka had done exceptionally well in one of her various tasks. All she asked in return was to be able to spend time with Ryoko. Ein begrudgingly agreed. Overtime he found it harder and harder to say no to Haruka. It almost perplexed Ein how hard it was to deny Haruka's requests. He wanted her to be happy, she had become like a daughter to him. As such she hated any boy who would dare get close to her. This on top of Ein's already general disliking of Ryoko didn't help. Still Haruka wanted this so Ein couldn't oppose.

Ein was hard at work when he gets an impromptu call. He pulls it up on the big screen. "Lady Venus, is there something you needed?" It was rare for Venus to contact Ein directly.

"Ein, yes, it's about these dark Pokemon you sent me." Lady Venus seemed a bit confused.

"Is there something wrong with the Shadow Pokemon?" This was still the very early stages of Shadow Pokemon development.

"Yes and no, they are very strong indeed. The problem is they are very- well very uncooperative. They will simply not listen to some of our agents. Even going as far as attacking others." There were still quite a few kinks in the program obviously.

"Yes, they have been known to go into fits of rage. Don't worry we are working on that as we speak." He pinches the bridge of his nose, showing visible frustration that more stress was piling on him.

Lady Venus is not obvious to this. "This is no rush. We'll just distribute them more carefully for the time being." She didn't want to bother him.

Ein shakes his head, "That's not my issue right now." He could tell she was trying to ease his burden, but he'd rather be dealing with her problem right now than stressing over Haruka and Ryoko.

"What's the matter Ein?" Lady Venus was no stranger to helping the other admins out. She was very kind and compassionate in that way.

"It's Haruka. She's with Ryoko right now." Ein grits his teeth. Wishing he could run in and break them up.

Venus giggled, "Ein, you know there is nothing we can do. She cares for him, and vice versa. We have to accept that."

At that very moment, Haruka and Ryoko are alone in Haruka's room. Haruka was relieved and sitting on her bed. "Man, I'm so glad to have a break." Haruka was quite stressed out too, she was one of the lead developers on the Ein's ambitious Shadow Pokemon program.

Ryoko shared the feeling. "You're telling me. Dakin had us snag Pokemon from like a dozen trainers each." They needed experimental Pokemon for the Shadow Pokemon program. So naturally they wanted to test it on Pokemon that belonged to people that showed resistance towards Cipher. This was regarded as Cipher's first real push for more authority in Orre. They'd acquired plenty of authority and power with Snattle's help, but until this point they didn't have overwhelming power to back them up.

Haruka leaned on Ryoko's shoulder and glanced up at him. "Knowing I'd get to see you was what kept me going." She confessed.

Ryoko nodded, "Same here." He leaned down and kissed Haruka on the lips. By this point the two had been secretly dating for a few months. Mei was the only one who knew and she was sworn to secrecy.

Haruka's heart raced, she could feel Ryoko's doing the same. She would do anything for him, anything to be with him. She knows in her heart he's the same way. The two truly believed this was meant to be. More than friends and more than boyfriend and girlfriend. Destiny brought them together. It may have seemed young and naïve to think. They weren't exactly star crossed lovers, nor were they outright prohibited from seeing one another. Still, Ein definitely didn't approve. Which worried Haruka more than it should.

She placed her hand against Ryoko's chest and leaned in. She kissed him again, with more passion and tender affection. Her heart was raving. She wanted to say something so badly. Something she's always truly felt inside. She swallowed her nerves and began to speak. "Ryoko-"

Ryoko was quick to speak, "I love you, Haruka." He'd finally said it. The one thing the two had been too afraid to say. Their true feelings for each other. He gently caressed her cheek and gave her another kiss.

"_I love you_." Haruka whispered. It felt so surreal, but her body couldn't deny this feeling. This undeniable passion. A fire ignited inside her the second she heard those three little words. Their love wasn't just superficial feelings or results of the heat of the moment. Their love was genuine and pure.

Ryoko had been told so many times not to let his emotions get the better of him, but now he couldn't care less. He loved Haruka. He loved her more than anything else. Ryoko will do absolutely anything to keep her safe and help her.

Consequences be damned. It was these feelings that drove him. They were the reasons he surrendered in the Viridian City battle with Team Rocket, let Zapdos and Moltres escape their clutches, and the reason they fled their battle with Tia at the Lake of Rage.

In the present, this created another huge concern. Ein sat in his office, mere minutes after having his talk with Ryoko. Miror B. called Ein back. "Did you need something else B.?" Ein asked.

"No overly, but I'm a bit surprised." He commented. "I thought you didn't trust Ryoko?"

"Ein shook his head, "He's gotten better as he's matured. He still has emotional issues, but this should help quite a lot." Ein saw this as a learning opportunity.

Miror B. still had his reservations, "I don't know this Mika very well, but are you sure she can rein Ryoko in? You know there'll be lots of strong trainers in Kanto. It'd be a problem if they got in his head." Everyone knows life outside of Orre was pretty much night and day comparatively.

"He would never turn treacherous as long as Haruka's loyal to the cause. His rebellious attitude isn't nearly as strong as his devotion to her. As for Mika, she's been on countless missions with countless agents. If anyone can keep him in check it's her." In other words, Ein had no reason to worry.

"If you're sure." Miror B. ends the call on that note.

The only issue was, Ein wasn't sure. He doesn't expect Ryoko to have any thoughts of betraying them. Life as a Cipher agents was all he knew. Still outside influences like Kanto could sway him. At this point Ein could only hope Ryoko makes the right decision. For himself and the betterment of Cipher.

* * *

Thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Also, share it with your friends. Well, I feel this was a bit overdue. I wanted to do a backstory chapter on Cipher and the three mains for a while now. So I figured this was a good a time as any. There's been a bit of a lull recently, but things will definitely start picking up again next chapter. Next time, Ryoko and Mika head for Cinnabar.


	20. Chapter 18: Dark Sun

Chapter 18: Dark Sun

After a few days' travel Ryoko and Mika finally saw their destination on the horizon. Ryoko looked off in the distance as he sat atop his Whiscash. "Hey Mika, is that Cinnabar Island?" Ryoko pointed to a large volcanic island. They had already spent the last several hours traveling by sea so Ryoko hoped there was finally an end in sight.

Mika pulled out a pair of binoculars and got a better look at the island. "Yeah, that's Cinnabar alright. What's the plan?" Mika allowed Ryoko to take the reins on this one. His mind was still a cluster of mixed thoughts and emotions, but Mika hoped he'd find his resolve and make the right decision. Ryoko was at a crossroads and this was where, one way or another, everything was going to come to a head.

"I'm heading for the gym. You do some digging around town and see what you can come up with." At this point Ryoko could really do with a win. His track record has not been phenomenal. Losing to Mary and Chante was a tough loss. Chante especially. What she said and what she did shook Ryoko to the core. He never thought Empaths played so dirty.

"Alright, be careful. Blaine's not going to suspect anything, but that doesn't mean you can let your guard down." Mika was worried that Ryoko might let something slip. He was smarter than that, but when someone's mere inches from their prize it's not unheard of for people to get a bit overzealous.

Ryoko nodded, "Don't worry about that. I have waited this long, if I have to wait a little longer, then so be it." Blaine being the one who controlled Mewtwo meant he was not someone to be trifled with. Ryoko's best bet was to earn Blaine's trust and steal the data when Blaine least expected it.

The two landed on the island and immediately split up. The scorching heat was not an unfamiliar feeling to either of them. Ryoko almost felt at home in the strong heat. Which reminded him yet again how much he hated the Orre Region. Still, in spite of the heat there was still the gentle cross breeze of the ocean. A luxury that many people in Orre were not blessed with.

Ryoko looked around for the gym. Many trainers were enjoying fun in the sun. Swimming, fishing, and battling. While many more just enjoyed being able to sit out or lay in the sun. Ryoko once more thought how it must be nice, being so care free and happy. Not hardly a care in the world. Maybe it was their naiveté that blinded them to the harsh reality of the world, or maybe it was their own ways of life? Even one is Kanto was so happy. The quality of life was better, that went without saying, but they still were run by a government. An organization that couldn't possibly claim to be less controlling or corrupt than Cipher, Ryoko thought.

Ryoko headed for the gym, doing his best not to stand out. The gym looked pretty vacant at first glance. No one coming in or out. For the most part people didn't seem to give it much of a passing glance. The building itself was very unassuming, aside from a sign outside the door. Unlike Erika's large greenhouse design, the Cinnabar gym looked normal and plain by comparison.

He walked inside and sees the interior was more liken to that of a lab than anything. A large hallway with machines all over the place. Ryoko read a sigh describing Blaine as a hot headed quiz master. Which confused him greatly.

A man walked from the back after hearing the door. "Do we have a challenger?" He ran up excitedly to see Ryoko. "Hello trainer. Are you here to challenge the gym?"

Ryoko looked around as he answered, "I am. Pretty quiet in here."

The man nodded, "Oh yes, well we've not had a lot of challengers recently. The slow season I suppose. Well, I'll just need your name and we'll get everything set up for you."

"Right, name's Ryoko. I'm a pretty experienced trainer too. So don't hold back." He informed the man.

"Wonderful, I'll send Blaine a message and we'll get all set up." Ryoko waited around while all the guy trainers take their places. The first trainer walked out and raises a partition. Next to him is a large machine with a screen on it.

Ryoko walked up, "Welcome to the Cinnabar City gym. Our gym is specially made with quizzes in mind. Our leader, Blaine loves a good brain teaser. So let us begin. I'll ask you a question and you'll hit yes or no on that computer. The question will also appear on screen for reference."

Ryoko couldn't help think this whole thing was a bit juvenile, but that was the rules. "What happens if I get it wrong?"

"We battle of course. Now, first question. Does Caterpie evolve into Metapod?" The gym trainer asked.

Ryoko stared at him with great confusion. "Really? A kindergarten could answer that. Please tell me you have tougher questions than that. I mean, it's yes, but come on. I'd like a challenge."

The gym trainer looks a bit nervous, "Oh I'm sorry, we normally have younger trainers coming in. This system is still new so we have to make it easy enough for kids." The trainer pulled out a book and started shuffling through questions. "Ah here's one. What's the IQ of an Alakazam? Wait that's not a yes or no question."

Ryoko interjects, "That's fine. The answers five thousand."

The trainer looked impressed, "Very good."

"I've got one myself." Ryoko flaunted his Pokeball.

"Alright," he pressed a button on the side of the machine and lowered the partition, "go on to the next question."

Ryoko walked through the hall and turned the corner into a similar looking room. Where a man in a lab coat awaited. The man looked pleased. "Why hello, I was told you like hard questions. Let us begin then. How many watts of electricity does a Thunderbolt attack give off?" He seemed pretty confident that he had Ryoko stumped.

"One hundred thousand volts." Ryoko responded without hesitation.

"Wow, you seem pretty confident with that answer." The scientist commented.

"Yeah, long story short, don't try to jump a car with a Magnemite." This little anecdote was thanks to a rather unfortunate break down in the middle of the Orre desert. Haruka, being the brilliant scientist that she was, thought why not try jumping the car with her Magnemite. The engine exploded and they were stranded in the scorching hot desert for hours.

The scientist laughs, "Yes, I'm sure that didn't end well. Well go on ahead. I'll see if we can get some harder questions."

Ryoko continued on to another scientist who was scanning a book full of Pokemon trivia. "Hello trainer, let's see. Here's one!" He put the book away and recited the question. "Alright, what Pokemon has four brains and is smarted than even a Supercomputer?"

Ryoko rolled his eyes and called out one of his own Pokemon, "My Metagross here."

The scientist looked a bit astonished, "Y-yes, that's correct. Metagross is said to have four brains and be smarter than a supercomputer. You're getting pretty lucky with the questions here."

Ryoko called back Metagross, "I'll say." He moved on once more. Ryoko couldn't shake the feeling of how childish this game was. He could easily get the answer wrong just to fight the trainers, but at the same time he just wanted to battle Blaine.

Ryoko came to his final questions, "Hello, we'll make this question nice and challenging for you. What is the average temperature of a Magmar?"

Ryoko had to stop and think for a second. "Can I phone a friend?" He joked. A sensation he'd never really been known for. It was weird.

The man laughed slightly, "You wanted a hard question."

"My girlfriend would know this for sure." He briefly recalled Haruka mention something about this. "About twenty-two hundred degrees?"

The man nodded, "Very good, Your girlfriend a Pokemon fanatic too?" He asked with a cheerful grin

"A scientist more than anything. Total nerd, but I love her." Ryoko chuckled. There it was again; he couldn't explain this carefree feeling that's plaguing him.

"Well that's nice, Blaine is up ahead waiting for you. Unfortunately, you can't answer a question to get the badge." He joked with Ryoko.

Ryoko smirked just to give him the courtesy. Yet, strangely felt genuine. What was wrong? Of course Ryoko had fun and made jokes with his friends, but he once more just felt so carefree and at ease. Life as a Cipher agent wasn't easy, but at the same time it was rewarding in its own rights.

Ryoko entered the final room where a bald man with a large white mustache in sunglasses awaited Ryoko. "Hello young la- man! man? I'm sorry, I think there was a bit of a mistake. I was told your name is-"

"Ryoko, that's correct." Ryoko has never really cared for his name and this was why. Most people he knew or met were polite enough to never address the glaring issue.

"I'm sorry, I thought that Ryoko was-" Ryoko cut him off once more.

"A girl's name? I know, I've gotten that a lot growing up." Yes, Ryoko was a woman's name and for the life of him he'll never understand why he was named as such, but he took it in stride.

"Well anywhere, I heard you're an experienced trainer. My name is Blaine. I look forward to a good match. Good luck." Blaine was very upbeat and cheerful for this match. It'd been a few days since the gym had last had a challenger. Blaine called out his first Pokemon. "This will a three Pokemon match. Now go Magcargo."

Ryoko smiled, this was going to be a cinch. "Go Whiscash." Ryoko was playing with the obvious advantage in this fight. "Let's make this quick, Surf Whiscash." Ryoko figured this will end just as quickly as it started.

Blaine smiled, "Careful boy, overconfidence will be your down fall. Rock Slide." Magcargo manifest a huge onslaught of rocks, but they all fall in front of Magcargo, creating a dam to protect him from the water. Blaine laughed, "You don't get to be a gym leader off charm alone. I've come up with numerous strategies for overcoming Water Types. Now Magcargo, use Sunny Day." The room brightened significantly, and gave off an intense heat filling the room. "Now use Smog." Magcargo spews out a huge plump of Smog all around him, enveloping the entire arena is a thick, poisonous haze.

Ryoko was unable to see through the toxic, purple mist, but he figured he could at the very least go for an all hitting attack. Ryoko goes for the shotgun approach, "Earthquake Whiscash." Figuring he's bound to hit Magcargo if he shook the entire arena.

Whiscash winced as it took the poison damage and went for a devastating Earthquake. The attack went off without a hitch, but Magcargo was sturdier than that. An Earthquake wasn't going to take it down so easily.

Barely hanging on, but Magcargo was not out of it yet. "Come on Magcargo use Overheat." Magcargo rushed in, knowing it won't survive another hit and erupts an enormous burst of heat from its body towards Whiscash. That damage combined with the poison was really starting to take its toll on poor Whiscash.

Ryoko grit his teeth and called out another attack, "Finish it with Surf." Finished it Whiscash did, Magcargo accepted his fate, he knew this was going to be the end and took it gracefully. His job was done. Hampering Magcargo was the ultimate goal.

"Alright, go Magmar." Blaine was getting fired up now. He was excited to see how this was going to turn out. "Kick it off with a Confuse Ray." Ryoko winced, the last thing he needed was for Whiscash to get confused and hit itself.

"Surf again!" Confuse Ray fired off at Whiscash. Ryoko figured dodging that attack would be next to pointless. So he allows it and hoped for the best. If he tried to dodge he'd just be dragging out the battle and allowing poison to take effect. He at least hoped that Surf could hit.

Unfortunately, Ryoko doesn't have that kind of luck. Whiscash hit himself in the confuse and from there Ryoko knew it was over. The effects of poison kicked in and Magmar simply finished it with an Overheat of its own.

The only good thing to come out of that was Magmar's special attack tanked thanks to the after effects of Overheat. Ryoko had to think about this, his only viable options were Absol, Dragonair, and Xatu. He'd put Alakazam away for Dragonair. Metagross and Yanmega wouldn't help in this battle with their weaknesses, so his next best option was Xatu. "I need you to take care of this now Xatu." Xatu comes out and immediately took action. "Okay use Psychic." Ryoko wasn't think straight at this point. He was desperate to come up with a solid plan, but his doubts were consuming him. Psychic was the best option at this point, but his vision was almost tunneling. Focusing more on hitting Magmar than his surroundings.

The psychic energy flew at Magmar, but Blaine was ready for it, "Jump over it Magmar." Magmar takes a running leap and does a quick flip through the air for a bit of extra flare. "Very nice, now Thunderpunch." Blaine smirked.

Ryoko's blood ran cold. Magmar ran forward with a fist full of raw electricity and dug right into Xatu with the punch. "Damn, we need some damage that's all I can ask for. Psychic!" He hated essentially wasting Xatu, but he had no choice. Psychic from point blank does connect, but Blaine was fine with this. Xatu was wide open for another Thunderpunch.

Blaine shakes his head, "You're losing focus Ryoko, calm down a little."

Ryoko scowled, "Don't tell me what to do!" He lashed out and went with probably his worst option. "I need to use my strongest Pokemon. Go Metagross!"

Metagross comes out a bit confused. Ryoko was clearly not thinking straight, at least Metagross was more than capable of thinking and coming up with a strategy on its own. Still, it didn't like the odds, not at all. The Sunny Day was still in effect, which didn't bound well for him. Still Metagross struck.

Metagross flew forward with a fist ready to Meteor Mash Magmar, but Magmar was smarter than that. "Get back Magmar." Magmar was fast, much faster. It back flipped out of the way and looked at Metagross. Metagross turned back to Ryoko, he already looked defeated, in every possible outcome Overheat was going to be a One Hit KO. Metagross statistically had less than a ten percent chance of winning. Overheat had to miss and Metagross had to land two consecutive Meteor Mashes. Metagross looked forward and did nothing.

Blaine nodded, "This match is over." He called back Magmar.

"What? No it isn't!" Ryoko shouted.

"Wake up! Even Metagross has given up. It knows a lost cause when it sees it. You came in here acting so tough. So why is it when it actually came to battling me, you caved? I want to believe you're a powerful trainer. Not just anyone can raise a Metagross."

Ryoko shook his head and called back Metagross. "_What the hell is wrong with me?_" He's losing all faith in himself. He sank his head and started walking off.

Blaine sighed, "Come back here tomorrow around noon. I think I can help you."

Ryoko's eyes widened. He didn't look at Blaine or even so much as raise his head, but he did stop briefly. "Thank you. I swear this isn't my best. Not even close."

Blaine nodded, "I believe that. Something was holding you back. I may be gym leader, but that doesn't mean I don't want you to succeed." Blaine's words surprised Ryoko.

Ryoko's always learned to fend for himself. Sure he has the support of his fellow agents and friends, but there was always that lingering concern that if he slipped up then he'd be kicked out of Cipher, like many other agents. Yet Blaine was openly helping Ryoko in any way he can. Selflessly. Selflessness, a concept Ryoko only ever associated with Mei, and Haruka especially. And yet, a total stranger was offering him the same courtesy. Ryoko had a lot to think about.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. And don't forget to share this story with your friends. You have no idea how much time I had to spend on the Pokemon Showdown Damage Calculator to figure how to lose this match. For those wondering, presently only Tia, Brendan, and Mary's are actually properly stated. EVs, moves, Natures, the whole nine yards. So I had to take some liberties with the numbers so Ryoko didn't just annihilate Blaine. I have used the Damage Calculator a lot in Tia's Tales up to this point, it's a very useful tool.


	21. Chapter 19: Dim Beaches

Chapter 19: Dim Beaches

Ryoko sat on the side of his bed, scowling. He couldn't believe how embarrassingly he lost yesterday. If anyone in Cipher knew, he'd be a laughingstock. He felt like the world and everyone in it was telling him everything he knew was wrong. It was driving him crazy and he didn't know what to do.

Ironically, Ryoko's only chance for clarity seemed to be with Blaine. Something he was even less thrilled to think about. Mika was already out doing reconnaissance on the lab and Mewtwo. The lab itself was generally open to anyone with a visitor's badge or interested in touring the facility, but Mewtwo and his data were no doubt kept in a highly restricted area. If not on Blaine's person at all times.

Ryoko had given Haruka a call early that day. He couldn't let on that he was having troubles so he put on a brave face and told her everything was going according to plan. Naturally, Ryoko never liked showing weakness in front of Haruka. She relied on him as much as he relied on her. The fact Ryoko was beginning to doubt his own abilities may trouble Haruka too. He hated lying to her, but in that case Ryoko felt he had no choice.

So here Ryoko was, swallowing his already damaged pride and going to Blaine for advice. He can only hope he doesn't give away his true intentions. Ryoko just remembered what Mika told him, don't get anxious. Stay focused on the end goal. Ryoko told himself this all the way to the gym.

Much like the day before, the gym was pretty vacant, sans the gym trainers and Blaine. Blaine was waiting for Ryoko as he'd said he would. Ryoko walked into the gym and was greeted by Blaine's friendly demeanor and a warm smile. "Ah good, you decided to show up after all. Nice to see you, Ryoko. I guess we should get going." Blaine practically had one foot out the door already.

Ryoko barely had a chance to react. "Wait. Where are we going?"

Blaine grinned and gave Ryoko a thumbs up, "To the beach my boy. Have a little fun in the sun as you kids say."

Fun in the sun? Ryoko has never regarded the sun as anything more than blazing hot and miserable. "What are you talking about?" He didn't see how this would help at all.

"Like I said, I'll help you out with whatever seems to be bothering you and hindering your training. Trust me." Ryoko looked at Blaine like he was a lunatic, but he had to trust him unfortunately.

"I don't even have a swimsuit." This presented a problem, not only because he wouldn't really gain anything from being on the beach without a suit, but also the glaring issue of why someone _supposedly _from Hoenn wouldn't own a swimsuit.

Thankfully, Blaine doesn't ask. "No suit? No problem!" He laughed and had one of his gym trainers bring out a rack of swimsuits. "We sell swimsuits to men and women on the side. A little extra cash. Go on, take your pick." Blaine's little side business seemed to be very convenient to trainers.

Ryoko just shook his head, "Why are we going to the beach? Is this to train?" Ryoko couldn't help question whatever was going on in that bald head of Blaine's.

Blaine explained, "In a matter of speaking, this is one way to train, but we're not battling. Oh no, you have that down pat my friend. As for what we'll be doing, don't worry. I'll tell you all about it when we're ready. Now grab a suit."

Ryoko played along. He wasn't quite sure if Blaine wasn't just messing with him, but he had to trust him. So Ryoko grabbed a dark red suit, and changed. Then it was off to the beach.

The beach was all Ryoko expected and then some. Being an island, Cinnabar had quite a lot of beach to offer and plenty of people to take advantage of it. Ryoko and Blaine grab a couple towels and lied out on beach loungers. Ryoko wondered what was next. Blaine simply sat down and reclined back in the lounger with his arm behind his head and a satisfied look about him.

"So we just photosynthesizing here?" Ryoko asked impatiently. He was getting a little more than tired of Blaine's games.

Blaine chuckled, "Photosynthesizing. That's a good one. No, just lying back and relaxing. Feel free to work on your tan."

Ryoko rolled his eyes and motioned over his already naturally dark skin. "Hello?"

Blaine laughed once more, "Right, right. Come now, you're from Hoenn yet you've never just stopped and sat out in the sun on the beach?" Blaine got the immediate impression that Ryoko was way too serious and he needed to relax a bit. "Here," Blaine got up, "I'll be right back."

As Blaine walked off a woman in a light blue bikini walked over and sat on an adjacent lounger. "The lab's armed with alarms and packed to the teeth with cameras. There is no conceivable blind spot. Probably upped security after the last attempt." Mika quietly informed Ryoko.

Ryoko glanced over at Mika, scanning her up and down. For no reason other than seeing her in a bikini felt off. Definitely not a sight he was used to. "Figures, Team Rocket's a pain in our ass even now." He said while still giving Mika the once over.

Mika noticed this, she snapped her fingers. "Eyes are up here." She pointed back to her face with a slightly irritated look.

Ryoko blushed slightly, "Sorry, I just wasn't expecting to see you in that. You take good care of your body. You don't look thirty." He clumsily apologized.

"Careful hotshot, don't make me have to tell Haruka." Mika teased. "Anyway, that's the situation. I'm going to continue checking up on the lab, but if we really wanted to be secretive, we'll have to knock out the power and backup generator." Just wouldn't be this mission without more bad news for the two.

"Do what you can. I'll continue working the Blaine angle." Ryoko looked back and made sure Blaine wasn't coming.

"Got it. Good luck with Blaine. I bet he's a tough nut to crack." Mika got to her feet and started walking off. Though as she did, Mika walked with a very intentional and pronounced swaying of her hips. She looked back, biting her lower lip.

"Now that's just not funny." Ryoko glowered. Knowing full well she was just trying to get a rise out of him. Mika giggled and walked off as normal. Ryoko rolled his eyes and laid back in the warm sun. The soft breeze passed over him as the sounds of waves crashing soothed him. He felt at peace almost. Even though he was just talking about their plan to steal Mewtwo, Ryoko felt like his troubles were miles away.

Blaine came back over a few minutes later with treats in hand. "Here you go." He handed one to Ryoko while nibbling on his own.

Ryoko examined the bizarre pink and white candy. "What is this?"

"A Slowpoke Tail." Blaine said between bites.

Ryoko looked a bit put off by that. "These are editable?" Delicacies like these were foreign in Orre, and most places outside of Johto and Kanto. Ryoko still accepted the treat and reluctant took a bight. It was surprisingly sweet and easy to chew. "Wow, that's actually good." He happily took another bite. "Who knew the tail of a Slowpoke of all things would be good?"

Blaine nodded, "I was surprised as you were the first time I had one." Blaine thought back nostalgically to his youth and his first time eating a Slowpoke Tail. "Now see? Isn't this relaxing." Blaine reclined his lounger back further.

He wasn't wrong. Ryoko was feeling a lot more at ease. "Yeah, but what is this helping?" Ryoko personally felt like his time was being wasted on this pointless relaxation.

"I remember when I was your age. I was always so uptight and impatient. Never taking the time to stop and smell the Roselia. Seeing you battle yesterday reminded me of that time. Except your case is a bit different." Blaine explained, but still left Ryoko curious to know more.

Ryoko nonchalantly asked why. "If you've got an idea I'm more than happy to hear it. I've been trying to wrap my brain around it for a while now." It was like Ryoko had somehow lost his mojo. Was it being away from Haruka?

Blaine went on to explain, "You're conflicted. I could see it all over your face. You were like a tangle mess of emotion. Like you don't know what you wanted. Just going through the motions without actually committing yourself to the battle. I don't know what that says about the kind of trainer you are however." There in lied the problem.

"I only care about strength and victory. Pokemon are tools to aid that goal." Ryoko's very harsh outlook came out once more.

Blaine frowned, "I'm very sorry to hear you think that. To me, and many others, Pokemon and friends and comrades. Almost like family. Tell me, why do you think that?"

Ryoko fights back the urge to say, _because that's how I was raised. _"That's just how I've always felt. Never really been told or felt otherwise. At least not until recently."

Blaine nodded, "That's a shame. Pokemon are so much more than that. Please, call out your Pokemon."

Ryoko reluctantly reached for his bag and called out his team. All his Pokemon look confused to be out of their Pokeballs. "There."

Blaine walked over to Metagross. "You seem like a pretty tough one." Blaine patted the top of Metagross's head. Metagross responded in a surprisingly positive manner. Ryoko has only ever seen Metagross snap and fly off the handle at other trainers. Sometimes even Ryoko himself.

All of his Pokemon seemed to have an air of rest and relaxation. "Gotta say Ryoko, you've have some strong contenders here. I still can't believe I managed to beat your Whiscash and Xatu."

"Yeah, rub it in." Ryoko wore a sour expression as he thought of that defeat.

"Sorry, but it's like I said. I think you've got competing ideals going on in there." Blaine pointed at his head for emphasis. "The type of trainer you are is fighting back against the better trainer you're trying to become." This was Blaine's theory anyway.

"How can you be so sure your method is the right method?" Ryoko started getting short with Blaine once again.

"Easy there Ryoko, but if you want the truth. Then I suggest you think back to our battle. You see, I treat my Pokemon like my friends; family even. I don't get mad at them when I lose a battle. I know they did their best. So at the end of the day either I was the one who failed them, or we were simply not strong enough." Blaine got on his knees and pet Xatu on the head. "And Ryoko, that's okay too."

Ryoko admitting he was weak? The mere thought of it was insulting to anyone in Cipher. Lack of faith in your own abilities was practically forbidden. Cipher is a team, but the chain was only as strong as its weakest link. "Since when has not being strong enough been okay?"

Blaine shook his head, "It shows you're still human. You and your Pokemon are not perfect. Sometimes you need help from others. You don't feel the same way about Pokemon that you do about people right?" Blaine asked sincerely.

Yes. "No." Ryoko lied. He's never seen anyone other than Haruka and Mei as even remotely important. Saying he had friends in Cipher was a courtesy to them than a truth he believed.

Blaine smiled, "See? Now shouldn't Pokemon be treated the same way? They are just as much alive and sentient as Humans." Blaine did raise a strong point. Everyone Ryoko had fought in Kanto up to this point was very kind and loving to their Pokemon. Something that hadn't gone unnoticed, but he still didn't get it.

Ryoko looked back out at the sea and thought for a couple minutes. While doing so a couple women about his age walked past and seemed to be checking him out. Annoying. He simply looked right through them. His devotion to Haruka was as unwavering as the day they started dating. Even before that in all honesty.

Blaine flashed Ryoko a grin, "Someone's popular with the ladies." Even Blaine noticed the looks Ryoko was getting.

"_Story of my life._" He muttered. Complaining about his _none _problem. "It's probably because I'm foreign. Stare all they want. I already have a girlfriend."

Blaine laughed a bit louder, "Good for you, son. How long have you been with your girlfriend?"

"Haruka. About four years now." He'd argue longer, but they only officially started dating when he first asked her out at the age of fourteen.

"You must love her a lot then." Blaine pointed out with a tender smile.

Ryoko smiled tenderly as well. "Yeah, I do. I wish she was here now honestly." Ryoko quickly bit his tongue, because he knew what was coming.

"Why isn't she?" Ryoko called it.

"She's a scientist so she's usually working day in and day out. I wanted to travel a bit. I call her almost every day though." Ryoko recovered smoothly. Mika's advice paid off in spades. The devil was in the details so keeping it simple was the best advice.

Blaine beamed, "Ah a woman of science. Warms my heart to hear. Good for you both. Pokemon and training are important, but at the end of the day don't let it take priority of those most important in your life. Unless you're content with being a trainer and nothing more. Which is okay too."

Ryoko nodded, "Don't have to tell me twice. Metagross over there was actually a gift from her. So it's very special to me." Ryoko paused, he'd never said that. He may have thought it every now and then. Like it was some sort of possession, but that wasn't what he was feeling. He looked back at Blaine who had a look that practically said, got ya.

"Special you say? Like you _care _about Metagross?" Even Metagross seemed shocked by this.

Ryoko blushed and turned back around. "Yeah. Metagross was my first Pokemon. Plus, it's shiny so it's super rare. It's also very strong and I don't always admit it, but it's got me through a lot of tough battles." Ryoko's cheeks were burning. Metagross seemed genuinely flattered. It was used to be cold and indifferent, but now it was excited and happy. Much happier then when Ryoko called it out to battle.

Blaine smiled warmly and pulled out a small berry to feed to Metagross. To which Metagross happily ate it up. "Funny how nice it can be when you're nice to it too." Blaine petted it again. He then handed a berry to Ryoko. "Go ahead and try for yourself."

Ryoko reluctant grabbed the berry and walked over to his Alakazam. Berry in hand he handed it to Alakazam. Alakazam just stared blankly. From the time he was an Abra, Ryoko had never hand fed his Pokemon. Cipher agents were in charge of that. "Go on," Ryoko added.

"Smiles go miles." Blaine flashed a cheesy grin.

Ryoko rolled his eyes and tried a practiced smile, but he eventually just thought of Haruka and a more genuine smile came out. Alakazam lifted the berry with his psychic ability and ate the berry excitedly. "Wow, he really liked that." Ryoko patted Alakazam on the head almost instinctually. Which Alakazam loved even more. Before Ryoko knew it his Pokemon were huddling all around him, clamoring for his attention.

Whiscash flopped up and down with a goofy smile. Absol rubbed up against Ryoko's side, as did Dragonair. Xatu even joined in on the fun. Absol's fur tickled getting a genuine laugh out of Ryoko too. "Looks like you had it in you the whole time. You just need someone to remind you that it was okay to love your Pokemon like friends and family." Blaine said proudly.

Ryoko nodded, "I guess I was so fixated on being strong I never realized that." Ryoko felt a surprisingly genuine warmth from this. An almost innocent wonderment. Was this how normal people felt? People in Kanto certainly acted this way. Still, it's hard to undo over eighteen years of being told what was right and wrong.

It was an enormous step forward, but now Ryoko was even more conflicted. Although, what was most concerning to him was not a matter of strength or his emotional connection to his Pokemon. It was his resolve. Ryoko was now seriously wondering if he could in fact do this? Could he bring himself to betray someone who's proving to be a good friend all for the sake of stealing Mewtwo's data?

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. When not a whole lot happened, but a lot of important things did come to light and have set in motion a lot of change. Momentum is building now. A lot of things will be escalating from here. I hope you all look forward to it.


	22. Chapter 20: Murky Feeling

Chapter 20: Murky Feelings

After their rest and relaxation on the beach it was time for Ryoko to really understand what it meant to be able to bond with his Pokemon. It wasn't merely enough just to recognize that they had feelings. He needed to connect with them on an emotional level, but that would prove to be easier said than done.

Ryoko sat down with his Pokemon in town. Blaine was kind enough to treat Ryoko and his Pokemon to lunch. The place they were eating at had plenty of trainers and Pokemon all eating together. He's kind of amazed how much people and Pokemon interact on a friendly and emotional level. Honestly it made Ryoko feel a twinge of emptiness. Something was missing in his life. Something that his Pokemon couldn't fill alone. It was Haruka. He missed her like crazy all of a sudden.

Dragonair seemed to notice something was eating at Ryoko so she nuzzled up against his cheek. He chuckled as her smooth head tickled his cheek. Ryoko petted Dragonair on the horn. He learned that she really seemed to like that.

"Thanks Dragonair." Those words did not come lightly to Ryoko. Thanking his Pokemon was such a foreign concept to him until recently. He always felt Pokemon did what they were supposed to do, no questions asked. Frankly, they'd done that loyally up to this point anyway. Ryoko felt better about himself and his current position, but still, the thought of stealing Mewtwo's data was starting to make his struggle more and more. He needed to decide now. Could he do it? Should he do it?

Ryoko's thoughts are interrupted by Blaine returning with food. "Here you go, this is one of my favorite restaurants. Five stars from people and Pokemon alike." Blaine laughed. He was happy being able to share a meal for once. Blaine had plenty of friends and people to talk to, but like many gym leaders, his friends were all over the region so he didn't get many chances to spend with them.

"Thanks, looks good." Ryoko tried to sound upbeat to hide his sobering mood. He took his food and bowls of Pokemon food. After one bite his Pokemon were elated. Ryoko dug into his own food as well. "Wow, that is good." He eagerly ate more. Ryoko never really cared about what he ate. Cipher just made sure their agents had a balanced diet so rarely did he have sweets or anything fatty. Just so they stayed in peak physical condition. As a result, even when he had free roam to eat whatever he wanted, he normally went for the bland, healthier option. Not to say that was bad, but he was dissuaded from choosing unhealthy foods.

"Isn't it though?" Blaine ate away as well. "You know, I've been thinking. I think you need to learn to loosen up a bit. Even now, you're sitting with proper posture and a stoic look about you. Where's the fun in that? You just need to relax." Blaine demonstrated by slouching in his seat.

Ryoko couldn't disagree more. This was proper posture and by far better for him then slouching. Naturally it was his admins that beat that lesson into his head. Still he could stand to lean back a bit. Ryoko managed to relax a little and lets out a sigh. It did feel a bit more relieving. "You're pretty laid back for a scientist and gym leader." Ryoko commented.

Blaine chuckled, "Well I'm obviously always serious when it comes to my research. Gym battles are fun, but I make sure I take them seriously as well. So when I have down time I live it up the best I can."

Ryoko smirked at this. He knew the feeling. Just relaxing was a rare commodity for them. He thought back to the last time he had a vacation. He and Haruka went to Agate Village and just relaxed. He also reflected on how odd it was that a retirement village had a large number of co-ed bath houses. He put that disturbing visual aside and focused back on his discussion with Blaine.

"So what do you think are some of your biggest accomplishments?" Ryoko figured talking with Blaine will be a good in, or at the very least give him a chance to learn about Mewtwo from the source.

Blaine smiled proudly. "Oh so many to name. How can I only list a few?" He laughed, "No, honestly I've accomplished a handful of interesting feats, but my biggest accomplishment was working with my men in restoring once fossilized Pokemon like Kabuto, Aerodactyl, and Omanyte. Omanyte was our first success actually. I was so excited when I revived it from the Helix fossil I shouted, hail Helix! It worked."

Ryoko couldn't resist the urge to let out a laugh at that one. Blaine was a pretty funny guy when he wanted to be. So he does have to give credit where it's due. Ryoko was quick to cover his mouth however. "I wasn't laughing. That was an involuntary muscle spasm in my vocal cords." He weakly justified.

Blaine winked, though it was hard to tell through the sunglasses. "Oh I _believe_ you." He did not.

"Anyway, that's a pretty big accomplishment. How did you pull that off anyway? I know there are researchers in Hoenn who do the same thing." Ryoko hoped this would be a nice and easy way to get into the lab. Ryoko was also thankful Haruka did tell him this little factoid a long time ago.

Sure enough, Blaine took the bait. "Why, would you like to see for yourself?" Blaine did love giving tours of the lab's facilities and showing people what he and his lab members were up to. "Once we're finished here we can check it out."

Ryoko figured he pretty much had his in now. He may have trouble getting to sneak into Mewtwo's chamber, but with any luck Ryoko could make it look like either an accident or have Blaine show him Mewtwo without any difficulty. The two finished eating and gathered up their Pokemon. Ryoko saw an almost spring in Blaine's step. He was so predictable, but it was that careless and frankness that had a sort of charm. Blaine was a man who enjoyed his work and loved his life. Ryoko felt a sudden twinge of jealousy.

In the lab, members were hard at work on computers and various devices. One man was in front of a large machine with a rock he was analyzing. "Well, looks like we made it just in time." Blaine walked up. "What do we have here?"

The scientist adjusted his glasses. "Well sir, it appears to be the fossil of a fossilized Kabuto."

Blaine clapped, "Splendid! Fire up the machine. I'd like to demonstrate it to Ryoko here." Blaine grabbed the Dome fossil and placed it on a small tray and put it in the chamber of the machine. The door to the chamber sealed tight once Blaine had it in place. He stepped up next to Ryoko at the viewing window.

The machine fired up and lasers began to pass over it. "We start by scanning the fossilized Pokemon's DNA. Once it renders an image and sequences the genetic code we start energizing the particles of the ancient Pokemon. By doing so we essentially restart their genes through matter agitation. The body rapidly begins to reform, microbes wake up and start multiplying again, and their DNA acts like instructions to rebuild it." Blaine simplified it as much as possible for Ryoko.

Ryoko smirked, "Haruka would get a kick out of this." He watched as a light intensifies on the fossil and a thick liquid fills the chamber.

"The light gives the cells vitamins and the liquid is filled with necessary nutrients. Imagine this like a woman carrying a child. Her body produces the nutrients needed to support her unborn child. We are essentially doing the same thing. Just at a highly accelerated rate." A couple moments later the chamber began draining and the light died down. "There you have it. We've successfully restored another Pokemon." Blaine and rest of his team take a moment to pat themselves on the back.

Ryoko looked in the chamber at the Kabuto. It struggled to get its bearings initially. Like a baby Pokemon that just hatched. A Pokeball rose up into the chamber, energized, and captured the Kabuto. It didn't struggle when caught. It probably didn't even know what was happening. The ball dispensed out into Blaine's hand.

"Pretty neat huh?" Blaine spun the ball on his finger.

Ryoko nodded, "Yeah, I never knew how it worked. I'm still a bit shaky on it, but it's still cool." And it was. Ryoko was genuinely amazed at what he saw. They turned a dead and buried Pokemon into a living, breathing Pokemon once more in less than a minute. It was astounding.

Cipher's technology was state of the art, he had no idea how it worked, but seeing a demonstration like that was so much more interesting to him. He's seen the shadowification process too. It was slow and almost painful to watch. Like the Pokemon were being marinated in darkness and suffering the whole time. There was a time that wouldn't have fazed him, or at least he was able to suppress his discomfort. Now, he couldn't imagine subjecting his Pokemon to the shadowification process.

Ryoko froze. That's exactly what they would be doing to the Mewtwo clone in its egg if they could. Who's to say it couldn't feel pain in that state too? Or worse, they clone it and them pump it full of more darkness. Until it was completely shadowified. Suffering excruciating pain.

Blaine snapped Ryoko back to reality. "Ryoko, you still in there?" Blaine waved his hand in front of Ryoko's face.

"Huh? Sorry, spaced out for a second there." He recovered and saw the Kabuto Pokeball in Blaine's out stretched hand.

Blaine chuckled, "It's a lot to take in I know. Here, we don't have a gift shop so take this instead." He handed Ryoko the Kabuto.

Ryoko looked surprised. "Wait, you're giving me Kabuto?"

Blaine smiled. "Absolutely, think of it as a gift to a friend."

A friend. Ryoko's friends were Haruka, Mei, and Chase. He got along well with other agents, but he wouldn't do something so selfless as just giving them the gift of a Pokemon. Haruka and Mei, sure, but they were a different story. Nor did Ryoko ever expect anything in return from other agents. Unless they possibly owed him a favor. "Thanks Blaine, but I can't just take this." He almost felt like this could a way of being tricked into owing Blaine a favor.

Blaine shook his head, "It's fine Ryoko, we've got fossil Pokemon coming out of ears in this place practically."

Ryoko slowly grabbed the Pokeball and looked up at Blaine with a sincere smile. "Thank you, Blaine. This means a lot to me." He was given a gift from Blaine. From a friend. A true friend, a genuine friend. A person not motivated by selfishness or for his own gain. "It's getting late. I'm going to head back to the Pokemon Center now."

Blaine checked the time, "Well, so it is. Have a nice rest of the day Ryoko. Maybe I'll see you again tomorrow."

"I'll probably be training by the beach all day." He graciously showed himself out. Ryoko didn't know what to do with himself. Now more than ever he's having doubts about his mission. He was hoping to find greater clarity, but instead Ryoko couldn't be more divided inside.

Ryoko knew there was also one person he could turn to in times like this. He checked the time. He knew she'd be free right about now. Ryoko quickly deposited Kabuto into the PC and called out Alakazam.

In the blink of an eye Ryoko was once more in Orre. He didn't even bother telling Mika. He was in a bedroom. It was empty, the lights were on, but no one was in it. The door to the bathroom opened up as he scanned the room.

Haruka stepped out of the bathroom, fresh from her shower. Her short, black hair still damp. Wearing nothing more than a towel at the moment. She practically jumped out her skin when she saw her unexpected guest. "Holy shit! Ryoko? What are you doing here?" She was stunned, happy, but a bit too surprised to react accordingly.

Without a word Ryoko walked up to her, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. "I'm sorry, I needed to see you. I had to be with you."

Haruka didn't know what was happening, but she gave him a reassuring pat on the back. "You know I always have time for you." All he needed to do was say the word and Haruka would drop everything. Ryoko was no different.

"_I love you._" He held her tight as he whispered in her ear.

"I love you too." Haruka just let him continue holding her. She knew Ryoko would talk when he was good and ready.

Ryoko pulled back and looked her in the eyes. He slowly led Haruka to her bed and gently lied her down. Letting her towel fall off her in the process. Ryoko climbed on top of her and examined every inch of her bare form before leaning in for another passionate kiss.

About an hour passed, Ryoko lied beside Haruka under the covers. Her head resting on his chest while his arms were around her, securely. Not wanting to let go. One hand ran down her bare back softly, while his other hand laced fingers with Haruka's. "So are you ready to talk about what's bothering you?" Haruka knew he had another reason for being here.

Ryoko sighed, "I don't know if getting Mewtwo's data will be possible."

Haruka doesn't seem fazed by this. In fact, she just seemed to nestle closer to Ryoko. She closed her eyes and spoke up, "You're trying to do what Team Rocket couldn't even do. The odds are entirely against you. No one will blame you if you back out."

"Then what was the point of everything I've done up to this point? If it was all a farce to begin with, then why send me out on this mission at all?" Ryoko couldn't understand what he could have gained if he didn't get Mewtwo's data.

"Well, it would gauge how tough it would be, you would get more experience in the field, and I'm sure you've learned a lot from this." Haruka was right. He has learned a lot, but was this what Ryoko was supposed to learn?

"What if I fail? What if I compromise the mission? They'll know Cipher's been snooping around Kanto." Ryoko hoped for some assurance that everything will be alright, while avoiding what really bothered him.

"You're still pretty much untouchable. Snattle would take care of that. Ryoko, what's really bothering you?" Haruka could see right through Ryoko's false insecurities.

"Haruka. What are Pokemon to you?" Ryoko posed the exact same question Blaine did.

"Tools, of course." Haruka had the same twisted mindset every agent had.

"They're living things too, they have free thoughts and emotions like us." Ryoko explained what he was feeling.

This did start to trouble Haruka. "Ryoko, you know we've always been told that we're to treat Pokemon as tools and nothing more. Is this what people in Kanto are teaching you." She was beginning to worry what all the outside influence was doing to Ryoko.

"I know, I just can't stop thinking about it now. I've met so many trainers who are way stronger than I am, who treat Pokemon as friends and comrades." Ryoko hoped Haruka would understand.

She slowly opened her eyes and placed a hand on Ryoko's cheek. "Ryoko, please tell me you're not thinking what I think you."

Ryoko shook his head, "I don't know. Haruka. I just don't know anymore." Ryoko was at a crossroads.

Haruka knew one thing for certain though. "Ryoko, I will always love you. Remember that. So please, don't do anything risky."

Ryoko smiled as a tear streamed down his cheek. "God, could there be any one more perfect than you?" One absolute that always brought Ryoko comfort. Haruka, she was a blessing in every way.

"Get some sleep. Maybe that will clear your mind." She closed her eyes once more.

Ryoko turned off the light and lied down with Haruka. "Good night, dear."

"Good night… _My love._" Haruka whispered in a way that felt heavenly to Ryoko. One thing Ryoko could always be assured of. As long as he had Haruka, everything would be alright.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Things are really starting to build up for Ryoko and his mission. There is quite a lot that will be happening once this arc hits it's climax. It's been a slow climb I know, but this is all building up to much larger events. So in the meantime, I'm hoping you're all excited for where this is leading.


	23. Chapter 21: Black Ice

Chapter 21: Black Ice

Ryoko reluctantly woke in the morning and returned to Cinnabar Island. How he wished he could just lie in bed with Haruka all day, but he still had a mission. He teleported himself back to the Pokemon Center and headed for his room. In the room Mika looked stunned and relieved to see him.

"Ryoko, where on earth were you all night? I was afraid you got caught or bailed on the mission." Mika wouldn't suspect Ryoko would bail at the drop of a hat, but she was starting to tell he may be wavering in his resolve.

Ryoko explained somberly, "I went to see Haruka last night. I was with her all night. I'm sure you can fill in the blanks."

Mika awkwardly filled in the blanks. "Right, well next time I'd appreciate it if you told me." She should have known. Haruka was what kept Ryoko grounded. He needed her as much as she needed him. This was always fairly apparent to Mika as she watched Haruka growing up.

"Sorry, I will. I'm going to get cleaned up and go out and train some more." Ryoko didn't say a word about the mission. He didn't want to. He just didn't want to think about that right now. He needed to clear his head. Hopefully some training would help with that. Still even seeing his Pokemon's faces reminded of all the wrong he has done to them and others like them.

Ryoko was growing more and more conflicted. His only solace was knowing Haruka would always help him and be with him, but would he really drag her into a questionable situation just because Ryoko was questioning his own faith in Cipher? She had a promising future, they both did. If only his conscience would stop nagging at him. Still, it was keeping Ryoko grounded in reality at the same time so he couldn't ignore it.

Ryoko decided that training would be the best way to clear his mind. He headed for a remote corner of the beach where he and his Pokemon could go all out. Turns out Metagross was the best training companion he could ask for. Metagross's incredibly mental processing made it the perfect opponent to not only try to out maneuver, but Metagross being Ryoko's strongest Pokemon also made it a lot more challenging as well.

Ryoko was sure that at any moment Blaine would be showing up. Ryoko shouldn't complain, because frankly any company would be better than simply being alone with his thoughts in his current state of mind.

As time went on though, Blaine didn't show up. It was close to noon by now and Ryoko was still alone with his Pokemon on the beach. He figured that now was a good a time as any to grab lunch. So he headed back to town. Ryoko had plenty of choices. He found with his freedom as an undercover agent this granted him a lot more freedom with his food choices. Especially after lunch with Blaine the day before.

Ryoko first headed for the gym, but to no avail. Blaine was not currently in. So the next logical choice was the lab. Which sure enough, Blaine was there. Though he and his fellow lab members were in a bit of an uproar.

"Sir, we still have no idea what's causing this increase in energy. Seafoam Island is facing extreme polar winds. Several inches of new ice seem to be coating the island." One of Blaine's scientists is examining a Doppler radar.

"What about our cameras?" Blaine demanded.

"Frozen sir." Another explained.

"Looks like someone will have to investigate this first hand." Blaine was not excited by this prospect, but he figured he had no choice.

"Blaine what's going on?" Ryoko walked up and saw all the disarray.

"Ryoko? Sorry about the mess right now, but there's some bizarre activity going on over on Seafoam Island. The entire island appears to be freezing over and we don't know how or why." Blaine was able to calmly explain despite being quite stressed. "I need to head over there right this minute and figure out what's going on."

"I'll go with you." Ryoko said firmly.

"Thank you, Ryoko, but this could be dangerous." Blaine implored.

"All the more reason you need back up." This was like a mission in Team Cipher. If it ever felt too risky then the admins wouldn't hesitate to send another agent along. No man should face danger allow is what Miror B. told Ryoko one time. Ryoko honestly believed this.

Blaine smiled, "Alright, I've got a boat in the dock we can ride to the island. I recommend bringing a coat and something with firepower."

The firepower might be a problem, but a heavier coat wouldn't be. Mika had them plan just in case they had to deal with cold weather. Being desert people, their bodies were not very well acclimated to the cold temperatures. Especially below freezing.

Ryoko was still committed to helping Blaine. So he hopped on board with Blaine and they set out for Seafoam Island. Seafoam wasn't far from Cinnabar so the sail wasn't long, but this was cut even shorter when they needed to make an emergency stop.

"Alright, we have to stop a bit shy of the island." Blaine pointed to massive ice floes and a solid sheet of ice stretching half a mile off the island's shore. "We're going to have to be extremely careful. We have no idea how stable that ice is." Blaine dropped anchor and lowered a rope ladder to the ice below.

"So what do you think is causing this?" Ryoko looked around for any major sights that could explain the dramatic weather.

"No clue. Are you sure you're going to be alright?" Blaine noticed Ryoko was shaking like a leaf even with a second coat over top his first one provided by Blaine.

"Yeah, don't worry." He tried not to let his teeth chatter, but the bitter cold was like nothing he'd ever felt before. The sooner they could find the source or at least be able to explain this phenomenon; the better. "So what do we know so far?"

Blaine pulled out some reports they'd gathered this morning. "So far we know there has been a huge influx of energy passing through the area. Like a cold front but more sporadic and violent. It doesn't follow wind patterns or sea currents which is odd. They are random and vary in frequency quite a bit."

"Doesn't sound natural. Think it could be a bunch of Ice Types in a frenzy?" Ryoko had his own theory.

"Yes, but why are they in a frenzy? That's what I'm here to find out. Also, hopefully stopping this before the ice expands to other islands or completely erodes this island away." There was easily ten solid feet of ice on top of the existing island. It had become completely incases in an icy tomb. What could be causing this?

The two made their way onto the frozen island and began investigating further. Suddenly, a loud cry echoed through the frigid air. From the overcast came a bright blue, shimmering figure swooping down. "Blaine! I think we found the culprit!" Ryoko made sure to dive out of the way of the oncoming Pokemon's Ice Beam.

"Articuno? What on Earth?" Blaine was flabbergasted to see the legendary bird flying around freezing the island.

"Well, if anything could freeze an entire island it'd be Articuno." Ryoko was certainly not wrong. The ground they stood on was already solid ice so they had to tread lightly. "Any ideas how to calm it down?" Beating it into submission immediately came to Ryoko's mind, but fighting off a legendary Pokemon had proven to be very difficult in the past.

Blaine shouted up at Articuno, "Articuno, you have to tell us what's wrong! We want to help you!" Articuno was unreceptive. Firing blindly through the air with one powerful Ice Beam after another. Articuno even kicked up a Blizzard.

"Yeah Blaine, I hate to break it to you, but we might have to battled Articuno to get it to calm down." Again, this was not the preferred option, but at least it was only one of the legendary birds this time and no gym leader was going to stop him like last time. Matter of fact, he had the aid of one this time.

Blaine nodded, "I think you're right Ryoko. If we can get Articuno down, then we can at least examine it and see what's wrong. Go Magmar." Blaine's Fire Type emerged and its sheer body heat alone slowly started melting the ice around them.

"I don't have a Fire Type so you'll have to do Metagross." Its resistance to Ice Type moves will come in handy at the very least. "Meteor Mash!" Ryoko shielded himself from the roaring blizzard whipping around them. Even through his extra layers of clothing it felt like his skin was getting lashed by the frigid chill of Articuno's fury.

Metagross's advance was blocked by a powerful Hurricane that sent Metagross and Ryoko both flying. Ryoko tried to get a grasp on something, but only slippery sheets of ice surrounded him. He goes flying off the edge down towards the frozen sea below. "Ryoko!" Blaine exclaimed.

Metagross quickly recovered and hurled itself off the side and drop down. It quickly landed under Ryoko and levitated up to grab him. Ryoko winced at the hard landing, but the fall was considerably shorter. "Thanks Metagross. Maybe this is karmic payback for what we did to Moltres and Zapdos?" Regardless, it was time to make things right. Blaine needed his help. So they floated back onto the island and resumed battling.

"Ryoko are you alright?" Blaine couldn't turn his head from the battle, because if he did then Articuno would seize a chance to take down Magmar.

"I'm fine. Now Metagross use Psychic." He wanted to keep his distance this time. Knowing how versatile Articuno was in the air made it a huge threat in direct one-on-one conflicts. "We still don't know why it's enraged?"

Blaine shook his head. "No, I know legendary Pokemon are known to be more in tune with nature. So maybe there's some sort of disruption?" Magmar continued firing Flamethrower attacks at Articuno who dodged them affectively for the most part.

"If only we had a legendary Pokemon to fight back with." Ryoko wished, and hoped. He couldn't outright tell Blaine to use Mewtwo, but at the same time this would be the optimal time to use Mewtwo.

Blaine looked to be struggling with something. "Ryoko there is a chance, but you can't tell anyone what you saw here today. Bad people may try to take advantage of this." Blaine pulled out a Pokeball. "Go Mewtwo!"

A powerful burst of energy erupted from the Pokeball. For the first time Ryoko got to see the true strength of Mewtwo. Mewtwo looked up at Articuno and immediately knew something was wrong.

Mewtwo had a strong psychic link with all Pokemon. Being created from the DNA of Mew, Mewtwo inherited most of Mew's attributes and then some. The genes were diluted thanks to the tampering, but at its core Mewtwo contained the genes of every Pokemon. Mewtwo tried calming Articuno down, but to no avail. Articuno fired an Ice Beam at Mewtwo. Mewtwo quickly countered with a Shadow Ball. Landing the first solid blow on the legendary bird. Metagross next came into the fight with another Psychic.

Mewtwo looked down at Metagross and Ryoko. Ryoko and Mewtwo's eyes met. Ryoko could see a powerful white aura all around Mewtwo, it gave off a burning intensity despite its soothing color.

That was the power of an Aura Seers, or the Children of Orre, Ryoko didn't demonstrate this ability often. When he did he never drew attention to it. Mewtwo's aura told him everything he needed to know. Mewtwo harbored a lot of anguish towards itself and others, but it stayed calm That's what Mewtwo's aura told Ryoko. Aura Seers devoted their lives to studying aura, it told them what the person or Pokemon's personality was. It rarely changed color, but could alter in intensity. Ryoko kept his aura seeing a secret from everyone, but Haruka and Mei. Both Aura Seers themselves. All three will openly deny it though. It was almost a secret weapon those three possessed.

Articuno's aura was fluctuating though. It's normal icy blue aura was being mixed with a stinging, bright red. Though Ryoko couldn't pinpoint the source. "There's something causing Articuno to act this way. It's directly affecting Articuno's mood and behavior. I have no idea what though."

Blaine acknowledged this, "We just need to calm it down. Wearing it down should hopefully work."

"Metagross use Meteor Mash again." Metagross was a lot more careful this time. It made sure Mewtwo had Articuno distracted before striking. Now that he was in close Metagross lined up his sights. "Blaine, have Mewtwo dive out of the way!"

Mewtwo reacted just in time for Metagross to hit Articuno with a Flash Cannon. Articuno reeled back, but just as quickly retaliated with a Hurricane. Metagross calculated the odds of evading the attack and quickly found a position where it could successfully avoid the attack.

Ryoko smiled, "Alright Metagross, use Zen Headbutt." Metagross came flying through the eye of the Hurricane at full force right towards the frenzied bird. "Blaine now!"

"Mewtwo, Psystrike!" Mewtwo flew up alongside Metagross and placed its palm on Articuno's face and sent a surge of psychic energy through Articuno's body.

Articuno fell from the sky in a daze and crashed onto the island, shattering several feet of ice in the process. Ryoko saw his opportunity, he grabbed an Ultra Ball and tossed it at Articuno. Articuno was secured in the ball. The Pokeball shook once, twice, but released before the third shake. Ryoko snapped his finger.

Blaine looked at him surprised, "Did you just try and catch a legendary Pokemon?"

Ryoko winced, he figured he was in trouble now. So he owned up to it, "Of course, who wouldn't try to capture a legendary Pokemon?"

Blaine shook his head and paused for a second. He looked into Ryoko's eyes and began laughing. "I have to admit you're right. A trainer shouldn't be afraid to have ambitions like that. Plus, if we caught it then we could analyze why Articuno is acting up. So nice try Ryoko, but I don't think Articuno's going to be caught so easily."

The two walked over to the icy crater. Mewtwo and Metagross hovered close beside their trainers. Articuno was out cold for the time so this could be the only chance they got. Blaine slid down and examined Articuno's body for maybe some form of external damage or irritation. Ryoko looked at Articuno's aura. It was calm now; the aura was stable. Still neither could explain what was going on. Mewtwo seemed to be immune to the effects. Whatever was causing them.

All of a sudden, Articuno's eyes shot open. It quickly got to its feet and out stretched its wings. It wasn't agitated or enraged. So Blaine was safe. Articuno looked appreciative of the Pokemon and trainers that snapped it out of the bizarre frenzy. Articuno flapped its wings and took to the sky. The clouds began to dissipate and the weather warmed up. Articuno's influence over the weather halted. Articuno once more looked down at the two trainers and flew off out to sea.

Ryoko watched it fly off, "Where do you think Articuno's heading?"

Blaine took a guess, "Somewhere secluded I'd imagine. It's currently heading for the Sevii Islands. So there's probably a mostly uninhabited island for it to rest there."

The two headed back to Cinnabar Island. Blaine and Ryoko stood on the beach. "Well today was an exciting day." He reached into his pocket. "Here Ryoko, I have something for you." He opened his palm and showed him the Volcano Badge. "It may not have been an official match, but you and your Metagross did exceptionally well in that battle. So I recognize that with this official Pokemon League Gym Badge."

Ryoko gave Blaine a bittersweet smile as he accepted the gym badge. The smile quickly faded, "Blaine, I haven't been completely honest with you. I'm not actually from Hoenn. I'm from the Orre Region."

Blaine looked confused. "Why would you lie about being from Orre?"

Ryoko shook his head, "You know why." Blaine was a smart man. Ryoko knew he could put two-and-two together.

Blaine sighed, "You're with Team Cipher and you're after Mewtwo."

Ryoko clarified, "Cipher wants Mewtwo's data. They want to create a permanent Shadow Pokemon. It would be there single greatest accomplishment since creating the first Shadow Pokemon." Ryoko said somberly.

Blaine balled his fists. "It makes sense now. Why you treated Pokemon the way you did. What hurts most is that I thought I'd actually made a friend. I trusted you!" Tears welled up in Blaine's eyes.

"I know, that's why I'm going to report back to Cipher that the mission was a failure." Ryoko surprised Blaine. "I'll just tell them I couldn't obtain the data. You were too strong to fight off." Ryoko gave a nervous smile. Hoping this would make Blaine a little happier.

"Ryoko? Why?" He was even more confused now that Ryoko is willingly giving up the mission.

"I saw Mewtwo's aura. He's a tortured soul. If we created another one and filled its heart with darkness, then it'd be even worse. Pokemon aren't tools of war." He looked into Blaine's eyes, "A friend taught me that."

Blaine let a few stray tears stream down his cheeks. "Ryoko. Thank you, you are a good man. You truly are."

Ryoko frowned, "No, I'm a monster. I was born and raised a monster. Nothing will ever change that." He was now seeing the error in his ways and was ready to confront his troubles.

"People can change and you took the first step towards it." Blaine commended Ryoko for what he's decided.

Ryoko smiled, "Thank you for everything Blaine. I have to go now. I have to report to Cipher about this." The only problem was how Ryoko could return to them now? He no longer believed in Cipher's core tenants. What was he going to do?

Ryoko knew this decision will have many consequences going forward, but it was the turning point. Now Ryoko needed to take a good, hard look at himself and figure out where to go from here. First, he had to tell Mika the news.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well the ball is really rolling now. I many ways, this won't be the last we sea of Articuno or the strange phenomena affecting it. Both these elements will be coming back in the series, Tia's Tales, and in a another short story that will be coming later down the line. So you all can look forward to that.


	24. Chapter 22: Grim Outcome

Chapter 22: Grim Outcome

Ryoko headed back to the Pokemon Center, feeling an enormous weight lifted off of him. The only thing he felt nagging at him was what to do when he returned to Cipher? Pangs of guilt struck him with each step. How would he explain this to Haruka and Mei? Would they still trust him? Would Haruka really be with him despite this choice?

The latter Ryoko quickly dismissed, Ryoko could commit murder and Haruka would still side with him. It was that kind of loyalty to each other than he loved so much about their relationship. Though, he again thought it would be unfair to Haruka as well. Their loyalty was a strength as well as a crippling weakness that could be exploited.

If he told her to abandon Cipher she would most likely do so, but if Haruka asked him to stay, Ryoko would more than likely do the same. Now Ryoko couldn't help wonder if that was healthy for a relationship? Clearly, his mind was made up, but Ryoko wasn't out of the woods yet.

He proceeded to his room with these same burning, nagging questions. Mika was in the room taking notes on something. Ryoko didn't bother to ask. He needed to tell her, "Mika, we need to talk about this mission."

Mika could immediately read Ryoko's mood. Something was bothering him. "Alright, is everything alright?" She knew what was coming from here, but she let Ryoko talk.

"We can't complete the mission, I'm sorry. I just can't do that to Blaine. More importantly, I can't let a Pokemon be subjected to the kind of torture Team Cipher would put it through." Ryoko balled his fist and stared towards the ground.

Mika nodded, "Alright, the mission is off then." Ryoko was surprised by how agreeable Mika was with his decision. "Ryoko, I'm glad you've finally opened your eyes. I mean that. So what do you want to do from here?" That was the crucial question.

"I think it's best if I stay away from Team Cipher and the Orre Region for a while. I need to clear my head. I hope that isn't going to be a problem." Ryoko trusted Mika, so he hoped he could trust her to keep this a secret.

Mika nodded with a warm smile. "Okay, don't worry we'll figure something out. I won't tell anyone. Here, I'll grab dinner." Mika offered and went on her way. In a way, this really did make Ryoko feel better and he is glad to have this weight off of him. He wasn't so worried about what tomorrow would bring now.

Mika stepped of the center and made her way down the street. She looked around before quickly ducking into an alleyway. Once she knew she was all alone she pulled out her X-Transceiver. "Epsilon reporting in." Mika reported.

The distorted voice of Epoch spoke through, "What's the status Epsilon?"

Mika didn't feel confident saying this to Haruto, but she did anyway. "The mission is off. Ryoko has given up pursuit of Mewtwo's data. He still hasn't decided when to return to Orre though." Mika paused and added further, "If he wants to return at all."

Silence is met on the other end of the line. Haruto sighed, "Mika, that wasn't the plan. The mission to retrieve Mewtwo's data is critical to master's plan." He regretfully told her.

"What? I thought the mission was to lead Ryoko down the straight and narrow?" Mika was finally up front with her intentions.

"That was only part of the plan. In the end we still need to get Mewtwo's data in the hands of Team Cipher. Which I know what you're thinking. Master won't tell me, but he assures us it's not going end up how we think it will." Haruto assured Mika of this much at least.

"So I have to do it all by myself?" She asked.

"You can call upon other agents if an issue arises. You know that. The important thing is that the mission gets done." Haruto left her with that. He hung up, not wishing to talk about this issue anymore.

Now it was Mika who was in a bind. She had to trust her master. Even if he was always vague with them. She wasn't the only one who complained about this. Yet, their master was always right so she couldn't really argue. Even if the situation looked bleak for now, Mika had faith this would all turn out for the best.

Though Mika was now in a difficult spot. She couldn't tell Ryoko that the mission was a go regardless of what he decided. He knew nothing of her other affiliations. The very fact she was in Cipher at all is because of her other connections.

Mika had to remain calm. She couldn't let on that the mission was still on. She grabbed food for them and took it back to the center. Ryoko was occupying his time by reading some books about Pokemon training and guides on the Kanto Region.

Ryoko was first to broach the subject though, "Hey Mika, I think we should spend at least another day here." This worked out perfect for her, but Mika wasn't about to say that.

"That shouldn't be a problem. Take all the time you need." She had to be supportive, because at the end of the day that's what Mika wanted. For Ryoko to finally leave Cipher. She wanted him to seek his own way in this world.

The night came quick. Ryoko was still worn out from his encounter with Articuno so he headed to bed early. Within an hour he was out like a light. Mika saw her opportunity and took it. She snuck out in the middle of the night. Her mission was on.

The approach to the lab was easy enough. It was late so there wasn't hardly anyone on the streets. The real struggle was the lab itself. Mika couldn't just knock out the power otherwise she wouldn't be able to retrieve the data she needed. Still she had to shut off security in and around the building.

Mika was a profession though, she'd studied the placement of the cameras and made sure to disguise herself. Wearing her blank, white mask and black suit. This was discouraged amongst the agents, but she didn't care. She knew another agent who felt the same way. Mika found the fuse box and through some careful tampering she was able to disable the security cameras and alarms. Silent alarms as well.

She next made her way towards the rear emergency exit. This was not Mika's first break in. Her time in Cipher gave her more than enough chances to refine her skills. She successfully disabled the alarm and picked the lock with ease. The hard part was over now. Now came the hacking.

She snuck her way in and silently made her way into the locked off area. The locks were child's play to Mika. Picking the locks with ease. The terminal inside was going to prove to be more of a challenge, but she had tools for that too. She grabbed the same small computer she used in Celadon and hooked it up into the terminal's mainframe.

Meanwhile, Ryoko slowly woke from his sleep. He let out a yawn, "What time is it?" He looked at the clock, two in the morning. Hopefully he could get back to sleep if he tried hard enough. Something was off though. Mika wasn't around. He looked to see if maybe she was in the bathroom, but the door was open and she was not present. Matter of fact, all of her things were gone. Ryoko's heart sank like a stone. "No! She wouldn't!"

Ryoko got dressed and quickly ran to the gym to get Blaine. He thrashed on the doors to the gym. "Blaine! Blaine! Open up! Blaine!"

Blaine came to the door in a daze and sloppily dressed. "Ryoko what's going on?"

Ryoko took him by the arm and started running for the lab. "I called the mission off, but Mika is still going through with it!"

"Ryoko, calm down and explain." Blaine implored.

Ryoko continued to explain as they ran for the lab. "Mika, my partner on this mission. She's raiding the lab as we speak!"

Blaine's eyes widened, "Oh no!" The run for the lab as fast as they could. Blaine scrambled to unlock the door. Inside, it was already too late. Mika had the laptop and was heading for the rear exit.

"Mika!" Ryoko called. She froze in place. "Why are you doing this? What's with that disguise?"

Blaine looked just as stunned, "You? Why are agents interfering? You can't tell me this was your master's idea!" Blaine was furious. He knew all about Mika and her group.

Mika sunk her head, "I'm sorry Ryoko." Her voice distorted by the mask. She continued running.

"Mika wait!" Ryoko gave chase.

Blaine picked up his X-Transceiver. "_Pick up. Pick up._" He urged. Finally, he got an answer. "Thank god, I can't explain right now, but I need you here. Please!" Blaine hung up and followed Ryoko out. Mika was definitely a lot faster than Blaine and Ryoko.

Ryoko had no choice. "I'm sorry too Mika, but I can't let you do this. Go Metagross!" Ryoko called out his Pokemon to intercept her.

Mika cursed and called out her own Pokemon. "Houndoom!" She didn't want to fight Ryoko, but he left her no choice. "Ryoko please, I know this looks back, but I have to do this."

"Why?" He begged for an answer. "Who are you really working for?" Ryoko pretty much gathered Mika was working for someone else. How else would Blaine recognize that disguise?

"It's my master's orders." She said solemnly.

"Who is your master? Greevil? Es Cade?" Ryoko didn't expect it to be someone outside of Cipher. Maybe a splinter faction.

"That's not important right now. Please, I don't want to have to fight you." Mika was begging too.

"Metagross use Meteor Mash!" Ryoko wasn't hearing it.

"Flamethrower, Houndoom." Mika needed to defend herself if she was to safely get the data back to Cipher.

Houndoom's flames were intense. Metagross was hit hard and Ryoko immediately gauged the gap in their strength. Still he couldn't give up. He had to stop her.

Suddenly, from the clear night sky, meteors began falling down between Houndoom and Metagross. Ryoko, Blaine, and Mika all looked up at what caused that. It was a man riding on the back of a Flygon with a similar mask to Mika. "X! Why are you here?"

X looked down at Mika, "Blaine told me something was wrong. Epsilon. Why are you and the Cipher Grunt battling?" From his perspective he didn't know what side was what.

Ryoko grit his teeth and shouted up, "She stole Mewtwo's data. We have to stop her before she gets it back to Cipher!"

X nodded, "A turncoat huh? Epsilon, hand it over." He descended.

"That's not in Master's plans X, you shouldn't be interfering." Mika very clearly spelled it out for him.

"You know what? I'm so sick and tired of him always leading us on and never telling us what's going on!" X shouted. "Never mind the fact he strong armed me into joining his agency."

"Please, he offered you power and you jumped on the opportunity like the brat you are." Mika fired back.

X audibly sighed, "Flygon. Use Draco Meteor on Houndoom." Flygon doesn't bat an eye at the request. In mere second Houndoom was taken out by falling rocks. Completely thrashing Mika's Pokemon.

Ryoko was amazed and slightly terrified. "Blaine. Who is that?"

Blaine smiled, "That, my friend, is Tom. The current world champion. That is a small taste of his power." Blaine too was in wonderment of Tom's potential.

"Blaine," X looked down at him, "Is Mewtwo safe?"

Blaine nodded, "I have Mewtwo on me currently. That's not the concern though. Cipher wants to use the data to make a permanent Shadow Pokemon."

X's one exposed eye widened and stared right into Mika's. She felt a cold sweat run down her spine. As if X's own anger was bearing down on her with such magnitude. The intensity was just as terrifying as people described. Mika wasn't so easily swayed by her associate's emotional mind games however.

"Don't try to stop me, X. This is more important that either of us know." Mika warned.

X scoffed, "I'll take my chances." Flygon readied another attack. When suddenly an Ice Beam fired back at Flygon. X noticed this and quickly dodged. "You had backup?"

Mika looked just as surprised. A third agent walked up, "Master anticipated that… you might… interfere, X." A woman similar in stature to Mika walked up. Speaking in odd fragmented sentences. Alongside her was a Glalie

X groaned, "Six. Of course _he'd _send Six. Aren't you on another mission right now?" X's response was a lot more irritated and childish now.

"Yes. Plans… had to… change. We cannot… let you stop this… X." Her demeanor was very strangely calm.

"This is turning into a real freak show." Ryoko spoke up. "Metagross use Meteor Mash on that Glalie!" Ryoko didn't care who was who. He was going to stop this one way or another. This was his mess and he was going to end it.

Six looked back at Ryoko with an unchanging tone. "Oh, it's this… one. No… matter." She lets her Glalie take the hit. She presses a finger to her ear. "Master… requesting, restrains… be removed." She paused, "In my… current state success may be… low. Five percent." Six stood silently. Her eye closed as she seemed to be lost deep in thought.

Ryoko wasn't dumb enough to let her go whatever it was she was doing to he made sure to take down her Glalie. "What did she mean restraints?" Ryoko shouted back and Blaine and X.

"It means things just got a lot harder." X landed. Opting to remove his mask. Underneath Tom looked a bit tired and fatigued. "Sorry Blaine, but we might have trouble fighting off Six now."

"It's okay Tom, we have to try." Blaine was ready with his Magmar.

"Return Flygon. Go Arcanine." Tom's trusted Arcanine emerged. "I can't use Rayquaza here and Mewtwo is out of the question too."

Ryoko walked over. "What's going on?"

Mika stood, unmoved, one false step could corner her. She waited for Six. Six's eye suddenly shot open. "Restraint, five percent lifted. Now engaging the enemy. Go Camerupt." Her stilted speech was gone for some reason.

"Hey you, what did she just do?" Ryoko asked Tom.

"She took off the kid gloves." Tom braced himself. "Arcanine, Extreme Speed!"

"Magmar use Brick Break." Blaine joined Tom in the assault.

Ryoko figured those two had her sufficiently distracted. "Zen Headbutt, Metagross."

Six watched silently. "Earthquake." Camerupt stomped the ground to fend off Magmar and Arcanine, but this didn't stop Arcanine's advance. Six perfectly predicted this, "Earth Power." Camerupt cried out as rocks manifested around it and plowed into Arcanine. Taking down Tom's star Pokemon. "Eruption." She even had a counter for Ryoko. Metagross flew in for the Zen Headbutt, but geysers of lava erupted from Camerupt's back completely dousing Metagross. Knocking it out.

Mika stood in total shock of Six's ability to battle. Up until this point Tom hadn't even seen Six at five percent. Six looked back at Mika and actually raised her voice. "Why are you still here? Go!"

Mika snapped out of it and called out an Abra. Ryoko was going to try one last ditch effort. "No!" He ran headlong towards her. Mika had no choice. As Ryoko ran towards her, she leaned in a drove her fist into his stomach with great force. Knocking the wind out of him in an instant. Ryoko grimaced and doubled over in pain. She looked down at Ryoko and removed her mask. "I'm sorry Ryoko. I'm very glad you've come to this decision, but you have to believe me. This will all work out for the better in the end." She turned back to her Abra and started to Teleport out. "I'll tell the admins we got the data, but we got split up. You had to shake off the authorities. No one will know what happened today." These were her final words.

"Tell… Haruka. Don't worry… I love her." Ryoko managed to tell Mika before she was gone.

Six sighed, "Mission accomplished." She glared at Tom, "You'd be wise to never do that again."

Tom scowled. Blaine looked crushed. "Get out of here Six."

She closed her eyes briefly before addressing him again. "I… have a mission… interfere and… there will be more… severe consequences." She warned and teleported away.

"Damnit!" Ryoko punched the ground.

Tom walked over to Ryoko and helped him up. "You alright?"

"No," Ryoko's pride and trust in Mika took quite a blow today. "Thanks for trying to help. Still, it's all my fault."

Tom shook his head, "Trust me, it's not. This was going to happen one way or another. With or without you."

"Not exactly making me feel better." Ryoko got up on his own.

"What are you going to do now? You're not going back to Cipher I'm assuming." Tom didn't know the whole story, but he could tell Ryoko was no longer the guy he fought in Viridian City.

Ryoko walked over to Blaine. He looked the most torn up. "Blaine, I'm so sorry I could stop her."

Blaine hung his head and assured Ryoko it wasn't his fault, "There was no stopping this. She beat us even three-on-one. We tried our best. It just worries me. What will they do with that data?" Blaine hated to know, but Ryoko felt he at least needed to know.

"They're going to clone Mewtwo, but when it's being cloned their going to pump it full of darkness. Permanently sealing Mewtwo's hard. Corrupting it and making it a permanent Shadow Pokemon. Blaine, I'm so sorry." Ryoko hated thinking about a plan he was once so gung-ho about.

Tom spoke up next, "So what's next? We can't touch Team Cipher."

Ryoko shook his head, "I'm going to get stronger, I'll do whatever it takes. Then when I'm strong enough, I'm going to return to Orre. There are people trying to stop Cipher's tyrannical reign. I will be the one to show them the light." Ryoko had a new resolve.

No longer was he Ryoko of Team Cipher. He'll be the harbinger of light to Orre. He can only hope Haruka and Mei will understand and join him in his cause.

"If you want to get stronger, then I have a suggestion." Blaine spoke up. "There is a cruise liner full of trainers called the S.S. Anne. I can get you a ticket onboard. They'll be departing for about a month. Travelling the world. You will encounter plenty of strong trainers there."

Tom nodded, "After that, if you are still looking to get stronger. Talk to Professor Oak. He can give you the fresh start you need." Tom wanted to help too.

"Thank you, Blaine. I'm worried if anyone will come by investigating. If they do, just lie and say I stole the data and I betrayed you." Ryoko suggested. He couldn't make it seem like he'd betrayed Cipher otherwise it'd be an all-out manhunt.

Blaine nodded, "I know, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble before you could even fire back."

Tom spoke up once more with an odd request, "If Tia or Red come by, tell them too. I know it might not make a difference, but it's best they know what's happened." Tom yawned, "For now, I'm going back to Goldenrod. You two get some sleep too."

Ryoko nodded, "Thanks. Tom."

Tom nodded and teleported out. Things were about to get more complicated for Ryoko. He need to act quick, but he couldn't rush his training. If he wanted to stop Cipher, he needed to learn what it meant to be a Pokemon trainer. His path to the light started now.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Big changes are going down in SD. I've looked forward to this for a while. There is still plenty for Ryoko to discover, but we're shifting back to Orre for a bit. Well, now this gave some context to chapter 76 of Tia's Tales. When Ryoko comes back into the story SD will then be occurring at the same time as Tia's Tales.


	25. Chapter 23: Dark Depths

Chapter 23: Dark Depths

While things on Cinnabar were not going as planned, there was another group in Orre looking to set further plans in motion. The rebel's base was still very low on numbers. The outliers were few and far between, and hardly organized. They tried their best to create a unified front; Cipher always seemed to be one step ahead. The rebels weren't discouraged. They had a noble goal and they weren't going to stop until Cipher was put down once and for all.

There were a few problems though. They didn't have nearly enough influence to make any big moves or the man power either. A large portion of their fellow rebels were taken by Cipher in an earlier raid. A raid Wes still blamed himself for being powerless to stop. So he devoted night and day to training to get stronger and to finally putting an end to Cipher. Despite heavy resistance.

At the end of the day, one thing remained critical. The rebellion needed more members. Takumi, Wes, Cary, and Ebony couldn't stop Cipher alone, and the Kids Grid were just that. Kids with no real experiences as trainers. Their hacking skills were invaluable, but not adding to the offensive at the end of the day.

Everyone was more or less keeping to themselves. The Kids Grid tended to stick around Nett and the computer. Ebony sat on a ratty couch reading. Cary sat atop a pile of tires doing the same. As usual Wes was outside fighting random Pokemon. He was always training his Espeon, Umbreon, and his newly evolved Rhydon. He'd been practicing all morning.

Wes walked back in without a word. Wiping beads of sweat from his forehead. The rebellion had a small fridge that looked older then all of them. It kept things cool at least. Wes grabbed a bottle of water. He took a few large gulps and sighed. Cary closed the magazine he was reading and groaned, "God, we need some more people 'round here." He complained.

Ebony closed her book and stood up. "I'm afraid Cary is right. Four trainers does not a rebellion make. We need numbers if we wish to stand up against Team Cipher." They needed an actual army to accomplish their goals practically.

"Well how do we get more men? We can't just go on TV requesting people to join the rebellion. Plus, look what happen to our last group of rebels." Wes still saw the faces of all the men and women taken away by Cipher for reeducation. They drove him to want to stop Cipher even more. To avenge them.

"I have an idea." The three were surprised when a deep pitched voice spoke up.

"Takumi?" Wes turned his attention to their leader.

"We have options. In the Under." He told them. Making Wes cringe. "Deep in the Under is a secret colosseum. Known as the Deep Colosseum. It's completely free of Cipher's influence." Takumi explained. Takumi was usually very quiet and stoic. So it was surprising to see him stand up and make this suggestion.

"Now hold on, ain't that place like super seedy? You sure we should be sniffin' around there for help?" Cary wasn't too convinced this was the best plan.

"The Deep Colosseum is a very high stakes arena. The people there aren't the friendliest, but they're strong trainers who oppose Team Cipher just as much as we do." Takumi knew that was the perfect place to find potential trainers to recruit.

Ebony agreed, "Takumi is right Cary. We need strong trainers. The men and women of the Deep Colosseum are about as hard boiled as you get. Besides, we could use more strong men around here." She said with a sultry grin.

Wes ignored Ebony's remark. "I'll agree with the first part anyway. So who are we sending to the Deep Colosseum?" Wes had a feeling it would be himself since he's usually the one assigned field work like this.

"I have a few ins in the Deep Colosseum, but I would like you to join me, Wes. You're a prime example of both what our rebellion is capable of as well as the potential we have." Takumi said proudly.

Wes was actually a little surprised by this, as well as quite flattered. Ebony and Cary were both arguably better trainers than him. They just sent him out on tough missions so he could get stronger as a trainer faster. "Takumi, it's an honor."

Takumi smiled with an old, weary smile. "I'm glad you see it that way. Honestly, I'm worried it'll be a chore. Get ready and we'll be off. There's an abandoned foundry a ways north of here that has an elevator leading straight down into the Deep Colosseum. Trainers down there are ruthless, so be very careful when we're there."

Wes nodded, "Alright, so what are you two going to do?" He looked back at Cary and Ebony.

Ebony was the first to make a suggestion. "I suppose I can go to Gateon Port and see if I can find some willing recruits. I a few bars where I can _persuade _some able bodied men to join our little rebellion." Ebony gave a soft chuckle.

Wes groaned, "Why am I not surprised?" A blind man could read between those lines.

Cary spoke up next, "I'll stay with the kids."

"Right, good idea." Takumi wanted at least one of them to keep an eye on the Kids Grid while he was out with Wes. "Let's go Wes."

After about an hour's travel, Wes and Takumi found the abandon foundry Takumi had mentioned. Neither talked much during the trip. Takumi was already not a very talkative guy. Didn't help that this was also the first time Wes had really gotten to work personally, side-by-side, with Takumi either. Takumi was an unknown to Wes. Oddly enough since he was his leader. He followed him without question though. Into the foundry they went, all the way to the back and through a few corridors. At the end sat an industrial lift with no gate or walls. Without hesitation Takumi stepped onto it, Wes following suit.

With one press of a large, red down arrow button the lift rattled, shook, clunked, and screeched as it slowly descended. "Takumi, you sure this is safe?" Wes now more worried for his life than anything.

Takumi chuckled, "Don't worry, the old thing hasn't been used in a long time, but it's safe." Wes isn't sure how Takumi knew that for sure. Either way, it was too late now, the lift slowly dropped them deeper and deeper into the ground. The temperature rapidly started to decrease. Stone surrounded them on all sides. It was starting to get damp as they descended lower.

Slowly a sliver of light began leaking in down below them. The near five minute ride down as nerve wracking to Wes. How deep did they go down? The lift finally stopped in a small lounge like area. Several shady figures stared them down. That lift hadn't been used in literally years. Some stared, because they were more shocked it still worked. Others leered at the possible intruders.

Takumi stepped off and looked around. "I'm looking for Agnol." Takumi spoke with authority. Walking around like he owned the place. That was the kind of bravado Takumi had. As passive as he may seem around the base. He was still a strong and steadfast man. He didn't back down when challenged. Plus, he wasn't afraid to order anyone.

One of the thugs stepped up without a word and went to the backroom. A few moments later a large, bodybuilder walks out. His hair was long and a deep purple. He looked around before training his sights on Takumi with a scowl. "Well if it isn't Takumi." His expression immediately lightened up.

"Agnol, it's been a while. How's the colosseum treating you?" Takumi was also a lot more upbeat seeing Agnol.

"Good. Business here's good. So what brings you around?" He looked at Wes. "This your son?"

Takumi shook his head, "No, this is Wes. He's one of my men. We're here, because the rebellion's looking for new trainers to enlist in our ranks." Takumi got down to brace tax.

"Rebels huh? So you're still fighting Cipher. Can't say I blame you. Though, I don't know how many willing recruits you'll find down here." Most people in the Deep Colosseum were from The Under or lived their lives in the Deep Colosseum. Fighting night and day. Battles were for much higher stakes down here however. Larger amounts of money, betting Pokemon, and even the trainer putting themselves on the line.

It was all highly illegal and some would argue more sinister than Team Cipher. Seedy trainers was an understatement for many of the trainers in the Deep Colosseum. "Not sure these are the kind of guys we'd want to ally ourselves with either." Wes looked at some of the rather unsavory trainers.

"Let's just see some battles, then we'll decide." Takumi reserved casting judgement until he saw all their potential candidates.

Agnol nodded, "Come with me to my box. The final round of this current tournament is still going on." Agnol led them to his private viewing room. "You're in luck. We've got one of the best trainers in the Deep battling right now."

The two combatants were standing on opposite ends of the battlefield. The first was a big, burly man with a Ursaring. His eyes were sharp and confident. Just like his Ursaring's. He wore a white undershirt that exposed his bulging muscles as well as a red bandana around his forehead.

His opponent in stark contrast was a young girl, no older than sixteen. She had deep, blue hair. Her hair was frayed on the ends and just barely brushed her shoulders. Her eyes were obscured by her sunglasses. Gold rimmed aviators. She was tan like most native born Orre citizens. She wore a loose, black tank top, and cut off jean shorts. She was battling with a Bisharp.

"What do you think Wes?" Agnol addressed him. "Who's your money on?" He was testing Wes's judge of character.

Wes barely needed to give the two a glance. "It's not even a question. The girl's way better. She carries herself like an expert trainer."

Agnol laughed, "You got a good one here Taku. That's Zephyrine in there. She's only sixteen and still more woman than most these men can handle. She's from Orre, but she left for a few years to travel to Unova. So her team consists of entirely Dark Types from there. She's not lost a match yet." Agnol saw her as the poster child of the Deep Colosseum.

"Perfect, we'll take her." Takumi joked.

"Yeah sorry brother, not happening. She's the best of the best in the Deep Colosseum. Plus, a wild one like her is not so easily tamed." Agnol allowed her skills to speak for themselves though.

"Why don't you just give up to save us some time?" She mocked her opponent.

"Can it Zeph! I'm going to beat you this time!" Her opponent was determined to win. "Ursaring use Hyper Beam!" The whole crowd gasped and cheered.

Zephyrine gave him a cocky smile, "Cute, Bisharp use Sucker Punch." Bisharp broken into a sprint and took a running leap toward Ursaring. Pummeling Ursaring in the face with its sharp, bladed arms. This didn't stop the Hyper Beam though. Bisharp flipped back and crossed its arms and took the hit. The whole crowd gasped once more as Bisharp tanked the Hyper Beam and immediately went back on the offensive. "End it." Zephyrine didn't even need to say anything. Bisharp slide towards Ursaring and swept the legs with a Low Kick. Ending the battle.

She smirked and took off her sunglasses. Her eyes were an eerie, blood red. Sharp like a cat's eye almost. "I told you it was a waste of time." She called back Bisharp and walked up to her opponent she put a hand on her hip and out stretched the other. He begrudgingly handed over a huge sum of money for her win. Agnol wasn't kidding, the Deep Colosseum was very high risk, high reward.

As she claimed her reward, Zephyrine walked out. Putting her sunglasses back on in the process. "I'd like to talk with this girl." Takumi got up and stepped out of Agnol's box. Wes followed suit, but questioned if she was really a good candidate for the rebellion.

Agnol walked up beside Takumi, "Don't be disappointed if she declines. That girl is trouble. Hell, that's why she's perfect for the Deep Colosseum." Agnol did take pride in the low lives that trended the Deep. They were his people either way. Cutthroat trainers, yes, but they still considered themselves better than Cipher. At least they didn't forcefully strip people of their freedom.

Agnol led them down the hall where Zephyrine left. Hands behind her head and looking aloof. She spotted Agnol and his company. "Agnol. Who's spiky and the old dude?" She was quick to disregard them, but she noticed they were focusing on her.

"Spiky?" Wes self-consciously ran his hand over his spiked hair.

"Old dude?" Takumi was only forty, but the stress of running the rebellion and fighting off Cipher for years has caused a bit of premature graying. As well as making him look a lot older than he really was.

Agnol introduced them, "This is Takumi and Wes of the rebellion."

"Not interested." Zephyrine cut off Agnol. Knowing what he was going to say.

"I didn't even say anything yet." Agnol stammered.

"Okay, but if the next words out of your month are, 'they want to recruit you into their rebellion.' Then I'm going to take my winnings and beat you with'em." She whirled the large sack of coins in her hand.

Agnol put up his hands in defeat. "I'm out."

Zephyrine turned next to Wes. "What are you looking at."

"Certainly not the charming girl in front of me." He said dryly.

"Okay, wise ass. So why do you guys want me in your dinky, little rebellion?" She asked without an ounce of respect.

"I'm beginning to wonder the same thing myself." Wes turned to Takumi.

"You're a seasoned trainer. We need people like you among our ranks if we wish to stop Cipher." Takumi gave her this whole speech.

She yawned, "Not interested. I've got to go now. Get ready for my next tournament." She walked away.

Wes was tired of this, "Listen you, brat. You may not give a damn about what's going up on the surface, but there's one thing I know for sure. Cipher is up their ruining lives and sooner or later they're going to find your little hole and smoke you all out. What are you going to do then? You'll have no one to turn to when the _real _agents come knocking." Wes had enough of her arrogant attitude.

Zephyrine lowered her sunglasses and stared right into Wes's eyes. People often called them crazy eyes and that was the honest truth. Wes was unfazed though. "Well, looks like you've got a pair after all. Tell you what hotshot. Beat me in a battle and I'm all yours. If I win, you stay here in the Deep Colosseum." High stakes, high rewards.

"Deal." Takumi spoke for Wes.

"Sidebar." Wes put his hand on Takumi's shoulder and turned away from Zephyrine. "Takumi, what the hell? She uses Dark Types exclusively. She'll destroy me." He grumbled under his breath.

"A _real_ man backs up his words with his actions. The Deep Colosseum's no place for _boys_." She goaded Wes into accepting her terms.

"You'll be fine. I have faith in you." Takumi seemed confident, or he was just filling Wes with false hope.

"Takumi, we're talking slavery here." Wes protested.

"Oh my god, never mind! You clearly don't have the stones to do it. Just get out of my face." Zephyrine was just irritated at this point.

Wes pinched the bridge of his nose, "Fine, I'll take your stupid deal. I'm not going to lose though, because I actually have something worth fighting for." Wes stormed off. "_Why are all the women in my life such enormous pains?_" Though this list is limited to Ebony, Mei, and now looking to be Zephyrine.

Wes was not looking forward to this. Takumi walked up to him and made sure Wes was fine with this. "I was kind of joking before, but do you really want to go through with this?" These were some really high stakes on the line. Wes was one of Takumi's best, if not only, but he still had a long way to go. Zephyrine was definitely a worldlier and more experienced trainer.

Wes nodded with a stern expression. "I said I won't lose, because unlike her, I can't afford to lose." Seemed like simplistic logic, but Wes's resolve was ironclad.

"Well your Espeon won't do you any good against Zephyrine's Dark Types so I want you to use this." Takumi handed Wes a Pokeball.

"Takumi, thank you. What is it?" Wes was curious to see what Takumi had for him.

Takumi winked, "It might not guarantee you the win, but it'll certainly help against her Dark Types more than Espeon." Though in all fairness a Magikarp would stand up better against a Dark Type. Espeon was one of Wes's strongest Pokemon, but the weakness was crucial in this case.

"Perfect, I just needed something other than Espeon to battle with. I'm still concerned though. Zephyrine looks like a pretty daunting trainer." Wes expressed his concern.

The two start heading down the hall. "Hey, we heard you're with the rebellion." Takumi and Wes turn around and see two guys with Pokeballs and sinister looks on their faces.

"Something tells me; you guys aren't looking to join." Wes said as he pulled out his own Pokeball. He didn't want to use Takumi's just yet. Takumi too had a Pokeball at the ready.

Zephyrine was laying back in a booth watching other matches. "Yo Zeph, you really planning on joining the rebellion?" One guy asked.

She scoffed, "Not hardly, but if the dude wins I guess I have no choice. Anything's better than fighting for Team Cipher I guess." Zephyrine didn't feel very strongly one way or another as long as they weren't trying to get her into Team Cipher.

"You sure you've never thought about joining Team Cipher? They're pretty strong." Something was off about the man's way of speaking. He started walking closer to her. "I think you'd want to. If you know what's good for you." He stared down at Zephyrine with a menacing gaze.

Zephyrine simply chuckled, "So that's how it's gonna be huh?" She grabbed her Pokemon and dove out of the booth, "Go Hydreigon!"

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Originally this was going to be one big chapter, but this felt like a good place to break it up. Building up to the action. That way I get to show off Zephyrine and her team in all it's glory. Like a lot of the teams and Pokemon in the past few arc of SD and Tia's Tales, Zephyrine's Pokemon very closely resemble actual competitive Pokemon.


	26. Chapter 24: Somber Deception

Chapter 24: Somber Deception

"Go Rhydon!" Wes didn't waste a second when he saw the impending threats.

Takumi was quick to act as well. "Go Exploud!" Wes was finally going to see his leader in action. The Cipher grunts both called out Mightyena. "How did Team Cipher get down here?" He demanded an answer from the grunts before he went in Pokemon-a-blazing. He feared the worst however.

"Cipher's everywhere rebel scum." One of the grunts dawned a visor and began battling. "Alright, Mightyena use Crunch on the Exploud." The other responded with an Assurance.

What Takumi and Wes were unaware of was that Cipher visors were equipped with special cameras designed to stream their view from it. Ein was working casually at his desk when he received a notification.

"_What's this?_" He asked himself. No one needed authorization to use the stream, but not a lot of grunts found it particularly important that they did. He opened the feed and saw Wes and Takumi. He slammed his hands on the desk. "So he finally rears his ugly face again." Ein gritted his teeth. Dialing rapidly, Ein called up every admin and their leaders. "This is an emergency meeting. Everyone in conference now!" He saved the footage, but by the time he could complete preparations the agents had already been defeated.

Ein ran for the conference hall. Making her way down the hall, Haruka passed by the frantic Ein. "Ein what's the matter?" Haruka was afraid something bad was happening.

"It's nothing you need to worry yourself with Haruka. I have some urgent business to attend to with the other admins." He dodged her question and ran into the conference room.

Haruka didn't like the sounds of this. There wasn't really anything she could do though. They wouldn't let her in. Not willingly at least. Haruka ran back to her room and hopped on her computer. She was acting on a bizarre impulse it felt like. She needed to know now. She bypassed the facilities security easily. From there it was a few commands and Haruka was in. She tapped into the security camera's feed of the conference room. Next, she tapped the call. This was even easier for an expert hacker like Haruka.

Ein sat urgently as he replayed the footage over and over. "It's him. After all these years and he surfaces in the Deep Colosseum?"

Lady Venus, Miror B., Dakim, Gorigan, and even Snattle all connected to the call. There were even the higher ups of Cipher in attendance. Nascour, Evice, Greevil, and his right hands Ardos and Eldes. Everyone of significances in Cipher was in attendance.

"This better be important Ein." Greevil said impatiently.

"You have a lot of nerve demand an audience with us all like this." Evice was a very intimidating man. Haruka's never directly talked to him or seen him, but she knew he wasn't a man to be trifled with. None of them were.

Ein nodded, "We just received this footage from an agent in the Deep Colosseum." The looped video played back on screen. Haruka got a closer look and saw the undeniable face of Wes and someone else. Someone who looked familiar. She doesn't know how. Haruka is certain she has never seen this man before in her life.

A few gasps followed by a very uncomfortable silence filled the room. "So he decided to show his face once again? It's been almost twenty years now." Greevil commented.

Lady Venus spoke up next, "That boy, he's a rebel. So our old friend _is _the man behind the rebellion." She chuckled.

"We can't let our dear Mei see this." Miror B. urged. Haruka figured if Mei saw this footage she'd be running to the Deep Colosseum in a heartbeat. She was still recovering from her head injuring from their last encounter so Miror B. must be thinking the same thing.

"Agreed." Nascour spoke up for the first time. "We need agents in the Deep immediately. How many men do we have currently?"

Dakim answered this one, "We supplied Agnol with a few dozen men. He's recruited a handful himself. The Deep is still keeping up the illusion of being an underground arena free of our influence." Everything about the Deep was just a clever ploy by Cipher in the end.

Greevil spoke up once more. "Capturing him is our top priority. We can't fail this. Send our best agents down their now!"

"Yes sir!" The admins shouted in unison. The call ended. Ein shuffled some papers and collected himself. Though, something caught his attention. There was no real reason to feel paranoid, but he looked back up at the security camera in the corner of the room. As if looking right at Haruka.

Haruka freaked out and cut the feed. How did he know? Did he know? The questions were a buzz in her mind. She did manage to screen capture the picture of Takumi. Haruka reached into her desk and pulled out the walkie-talkie. "Gonzap, we need to talk."

"Exploud use Hyper Voice!" Takumi instructed his Pokemon with such authority. This was Wes's first real glimpse of Takumi as a trainer. Exploud's huge mouth opened and cried out a cacophony of sound in an explosive force. Any Pokemon in their path was immediately leveled by Takumi's Pokemon.

Wes was putting up a good fight himself. These grunts in disguise weren't too tough for him though. Wes has definitely faced tougher opposition; Deep Colosseum battlers were still no joke. "Rock Blast, Rhydon." Rhydon manifested several stones and proceeded to hurl them individually at the enemy Pokemon.

"We gotta find Agnol. Make sure he's safe." Takumi used Exploud to further clear the way and made a run for Agnol's office. "Wes, I need you to go find Zephyrine. I know you're not her biggest fan, but she could be an invaluable ally."

Wes nodded, "I know, I don't want anything to happen to her either." Wes's humanitarian side was showing once more. He couldn't ignore someone in distress. An ally, possible ally, or apparently even an enemy.

She crept into his mind even now. Was she going to show up? Wes hoped not. He didn't know if he could handle that right now. If she caught wind of where he was then trouble would be fast approaching. Well, it was coming regardless. It was just the matter the size of the trouble. Wes couldn't worry about that right now, he needed to find Zephyrine.

Takumi ran down the halls with Exploud still blasting away any opposition in their path. There were tons of Cipher grunts. This made no sense to him. Were they all hiding their true nature from Agnol? One worst case scenario flashed in Takumi's mind. He didn't want to think it, definitely didn't want to believe it. Agnol was one of Takumi's oldest friends. He couldn't have turned to the enemy's side.

"Agnol!" Takumi threw open the door to Agnol's office.

Agnol stood by his desk, the chair turned away from it. Agnol stared stoically. "I'm glad you came to find me. Takumi." His tone was deadpan. "I was hoping to convince you to give up all this rebel nonsense."

Takumi growled, "I will never give up on the rebellion. Cipher took everything from me!" He glared at Agnol. "You know what Cipher is capable of. The hate and malice they spread throughout the region is a disease!"

Takumi is silenced by the sound of clapped. The chair slowly turns, in sat none other than Ein. "Disease? Really? Funny coming from you, Takahata."

"Ein! You bastard! I've waited a long time to confront you." Takumi balled his fist.

"Came to exact your revenge Takahata?" Ein was rather nonplussed by all of this. "What could have made one of Cipher's founding members come to hate the very thing he helped create so much?" Ein was acting coy. He knew the answer.

"Cipher was supposed to be an instrument of peace! You used your authority to oppress and ruin lives. Just like you did mine. That, I can never forgive." Takumi could hardly see straight he was so furious.

"It's been almost Twenty years. Are you still holding that silly grudge?" Ein said pompously.

"You took my family from me! My kids. My wife." Tears welled up in his eyes. "I'll never forgive you monsters!" Exploud stepped up waiting for one of them to call out their Pokemon.

"If that's how it's going to be, then so be it. Go Crobat." Ein was ready to battle Takumi. He was not going to be battling alone though. Agnol laughed and stepped up alongside Ein. "Good to see you're willing to prove your worth to Cipher, Agnol." Ein brushed a hand through his hair pompously.

"I've been stuck down here for too long. Time for me to surface and get what I deserve. Go Kingdra." Agnol gave Takumi an evil smile. "It's nothing personal, _old friend_."

Ein laughed, "Very good. And remember our deal. We get the girl too." Ein needed stronger agents in his ranks and Zephyrine fit right in.

"She's all yours." Agnol happily relinquished her over to them. Proving he doesn't have a shred of good left in his heart.

Takumi sighed, "I thought I could trust you, Agnol. I thought you were different. I guess I was wrong. It wouldn't be the first time I was betrayed by those I trusted. It probably won't be the last either." Takumi pulled out a second Pokeball. "Go Swalot!"

Wes ran down the halls looking for Zephyrine. Surprisingly there was very little Cipher activity. Where could they have all gone? Wes hoped that was all of them, but feared they might have all gathered together to capture the actual Deep battlers.

Running out into the main arena, Wes's fears seemed to be confirmed when he saw Zephyrine in the middle of a huge cluster of Cipher agents. Pokemon of all kinds were in the arena surrounding her. Including an ominous looking Hydreigon. "Zephyrine!" Wes shouted to her.

She looked up to him with a nonplussed, blank expression across her lips. Her sunglasses on she looked up at the Hydreigon and commanded, "Dark Pulse." Casually she watched as Hydreigon level the grunts' Pokemon around her. Several of them ran in terror other's stumbled over backwards. She walked up to one unlucky grunt and slammed her foot between his legs, just shy of a very sensitive spot. He looked up at her and trembled. "Lick my boot bug." He crawled backwards and stumbled into a full on sprint. Pants sufficiently darkened.

"Here I was worried." Wes walked up with a cocky smirk. "So you reconsidering our offer now?"

"What? Did you come to rescue me? Oh my knight in shining armor." Her tone was thick with sarcasm. "I'm still waiting for those _real _agents you were talking about to show up."

The two are interrupted by the sound of oddly flamboyant laughter and what sounded like samba music. "Oh really now child? Well I've got a _real_ challenge for you then, sweetie." A man with an absurdly large afro moonwalked into the area. His attire was a ridiculously bright gold and flashy. "So I see we have some naughty, naughty trainer here with us." He giggled.

"Who are you, freak show?" Zephyrine wasn't very worried.

"Moi? I am the man who will put a stop to your nasty rebellion. You can call me Miror B." He struck a pose. "I am one of Cipher's primo admins." Miror B. excitedly informed.

"Crap." Wes had Rhydon at the ready. "I've heard some bad things about Cipher's admins." He warned Zephyrine.

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes.

"I've heard quite a lot about you, boy. The big bad Wes hurt my darling lil Mei. Like the bad guy you are." He shamed Wes for defending himself and fighting back against Cipher.

"Great. So she answers to you?" Wes was now even more concerned. Mei was strong. So how strong was her superior? "Is she alright?" Wes paused. Why did he ask that?

Miror B. was confused himself, "She'll make a full recovery. I… appreciate the concern? Are you trying to trick me, boy?" Thankfully Miror B. dismissed it as some weak ploy to throw him off his game.

"Darn, you caught me." Wes faked it and went with it. It did bug him though. He didn't like the thought of people hurting or suffering. It hit hardest when he was the one who caused it. While it was self-defense and completely unintentional. Mei still suffered a pretty nasty hit in the mine. So it was the proper thing to ask, enemy or not.

"Anyway, time to hand yourselves in. I do hope you all will come peacefully. I'd hate to rough you up too bad. We have perfect positions for you in Cipher." He chuckled flamboyantly. All while he continued stepping in rhythm with his ridiculous music.

Zephyrine smirked and stepped up. She took off her sunglasses and looked Miror B. dead in the eye. Even he was unnerved by her eyes. "Really? Well Mirror Ball head, you can take your offer and shove it!"

Miror B. was fuming, "Mirror Ball head? You insolent brat! You clearly don't understand true fashion perfection." He pulled out two Pokeballs. "Go my Ludicolo." Two Ludicolo emerged and began dancing about the battlefield.

Zephyrine's demeanor didn't change. "Oh I'm so scared." She mocked him.

"Ludicolo use Rain Dance." One of Miror B.'s Ludicolo channeled a rain storm in the middle of the arena. "Ice Beam Ludicolo." He had the other fixate an Ice Beam on Hydreigon.

"Dark Pulse, Hydreigon." Zephyrine ordered.

"Bulldoze, Rhydon." Wes provided back up.

Miror B. giggled happily. "Hydro Pump, my Ludicolo."

The first Ludicolo ran forward and unleashed a powerful Ice Bema at Hydreigon. While the one who set up Rain Dance released a torrent of water at Rhydon. Both striking with incredible speed. Hydreigon and Rhydon going down with a single hit.

"What the hell?" Zephyrine was shocked to see how fast they were.

"Swift Swim." Wes groaned. "Return Rhydon." Wes pulled out the Pokeball that Takumi gave him. "Hopefully this one is good enough. Go!" The ball called out a Yanma.

"A Yanma?" Zephyrine wasn't impressed. "Go Mandibuzz." Zephyrine called out her Mandibuzz. despite knowing Ludicolo was running Ice Beam.

"Poor choice girlie. Ludicolo use Ice Beam on that Mandibuzz." Miror B. shook his head woefully. As if he really cared.

"Yanma, I don't know it's movepool, but let's hope Takumi gave it optimal moves. Use Bug Buzz." Sure enough, Yanma responded and opened its mouth. A buzzing reverberates and hit Ludicolo for some hefty damage. Yanma began moving faster as Speed Boost kicked in.

Meanwhile, "Mandibuzz use Sucker Punch."

Miror B. and Wes were very confused. Mandibuzz cannot learn Sucker Punch. Yet, Mandibuzz flew forward and intercepted the attack with a strong strike from its beak. The Ice Beam connected, but the damage itself looked minimal. "What are earth is going on with that Mandibuzz?"

Slowly, Mandibuzz's form dissolved into shadows. It landed and warped in shape. The new form was a tall Pokemon with a pointed snout. The shadows fade revealing what Mandibuzz really was. "A Zoroark?" This was surprise for sure.

"You know it. Zoroark use Dark Pulse." Zoroark leapt towards Ludicolo and fired a burst of darkness from its mouth.

"Yanma, Bug Buzz." Yanma double teamed the Ludicolo and finished it off. Granting itself more speed under the effects of its ability.

"Well that Ice Beam is out of the picture now." Zephyrine made sure that at the very least the one who was most detrimental to her and Wes was taken care of.

"Oh so you bad kiddies think you're so clever? Go Armaldo! Take care of those nasty rebels." Miror B. gave an evil smile. There was something off about Armaldo. It looked angry and enraged more than it should be.

"By the by, I'm not a rebel." Zephyrine commented. Wes just glared at her. "What? I'm not. Anyway, Zoroark use Flamethrower."

"Yanma use Air Slash." Yanma was way faster than both Zoroark and Miror B.'s Pokemon by this point. Yanma's wings vibrated and set out a burst of air at Armaldo. Zoroark's flames were even rather ineffective.

Miror B. giggled, "Is that all? Rock Slide." He snapped his finger and did a spin. Armaldo roared and conjured rocks all around Zoroark and Yanma. Crushing them both under the mighty attack.

"Crap!" Zephyrine called back her Pokemon.

"We have to get out of here. We can't beat him." Wes implored.

Zephyrine just rolled her eyes, "Whatever, I can take him with or without you." She put up the act, but she knew she was on the losing end of this battle. Especially if Wes bailed.

Wes gritted his teeth and balled his fist. He jerked Zephyrine by the shoulder and turned her towards him. In a single motion he raised his hand and backhanded her across the face. "Don't be an idiot! We can't win! He's an admin. Cipher's elites."

Zephyrine looked stunned. Her cheek stung. Wes was right. They couldn't win. "Fine, strategic withdraw!" The two called back their felled Pokemon and high tailed it out of the arena.

"After them. Don't let those rebels escape!" Miror B. shouted. Not giving chase himself.

"We have to find Takumi!" Wes ran for Agnol's office. Hoping everything was alright on that front. The concentration of Cipher grunts chased them down the halls. They were completely blocked off from escaping. They ran into Agnol's office. "Takumi!"

Before them Takumi stood with his last Pokemon fainted. "Wes, I'm sorry." As strong as Takumi was, Ein and Agnol were just as good if not better. Their combined strength overwhelmed him.

"Capture them. This farce is over." Ein ordered the grunts to surrounded the three and were ready to capture them.

Suddenly a person teleported in with a Gardevior. "Sorry loves, but I cannot allow that." It was Ebony.

"Ebony." Takumi sighed.

"Gardevior use teleport." She smiled and waved goodbye to Ein. Playfully blowing a kiss to Miror B. The four teleported out.

Next thing they knew they were back at the rebel base. "So ya had to save their skin after all?" Cary laughed, not even knowing the full story.

"Well of course, I wasn't about to let the leader of the rebel fall before it even got off its feet. There are still plenty of people out in Orre that oppose Cipher. It's our job to bring them all together." Ebony explained, calling back her Gardevior.

"How did you know where in the Deep Colosseum we were anyway?" Wes asked almost like this was too good to be true.

"You're welcome." Ebony teased. "Let's just say I've _been around_." She winked and left it at that.

"I immediately regret asking." Wes just shook his head. Mostly in disappointment

"Okay, I'll bite. Where are we?" Zephyrine impatiently awaited some form of explanation.

"This is the rebel's secret base." Takumi informed her.

"Oh my god, it's worse than I thought." She was not impressed. "I guess I'm stuck with you people now."

"We're so glad you've come around." Wes responded sarcastically. "I'm going to go lie down now." He started walking away. Suddenly, Wes froze. "Crap my bike!" It was still at the abandoned warehouse.

Cary laughed, "Wow, sucks to be you, man. Here." He tossed Wes a Pokeball. "Use my Braviary and go get it." In the end, they all needed it. It was their only means of transportation outside of their Pokemon.

"Anyway, welcome aboard Zephyrine. We look forward to you helping us finally free Orre from Cipher's corruption."

She nodded, "I guess this is better than being imprisoned by Cipher. So I'll help. Especially now that I've got a score to settle with Miror B." She did have much choice either for that matter.

Though back in the Cipher research lab, someone was less that pleased to see them get away. "Ein pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. "So _he's _back in the picture. At least we know for sure now. No matter. We'll stop the rebels once and for all next time." This Ein swore.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. The plot thickens, I'm glad I was able to set up all the the different aspects of Takumi and his past. I know it left a lot more questions than answers, so you'll have to keep reading to learn more.


	27. Chapter 25: Shady Dealings

Chapter 25: Shady Dealings

After that night, that dreaded night. When Mika had to betray the trust of Ryoko. Commit a crime she was hoping would never take place. She had it. Mika looked down at a small portable drive with all the data Blaine had on Mewtwo's creation. No man should have this kind of knowledge, especially not Ein. To readily play the role of Arceus. Mika thought to herself.

She wanted to destroy it, but her master's orders were absolute. It was still the dead of night in Orre when she returned to the lab. She wasn't going to bother Ein in the middle of the night so she headed for her room and waited until the morning. Still mulling over in her head if he wanted him to really have this data.

Mika had a mission to accomplish. Both with Cipher and the those above her. She had a lot to sleep on and not a lot of time to sleep. She went into her room and quickly hid the drive in a wall safe. Along with her mask. No one could know who she really allied herself with. The last thing Mika needed was to compromise herself. She got some rest, but the morning came way sooner than she'd liked. What was Ryoko doing? She wondered to herself.

Her alarm was prompt, right at the break of dawn. She was the type to make sure to get her work outs in before the gym got crowded, but she needed to report into Ein first. Thankfully Ein was also the kind of person to wake up first thing in the morning. So Mika knew exactly where he'd be.

She walked up to Ein's office door and knocked. Patiently awaiting his response. Hard drive clenched in her hand. "Come in." Ein's door slid open automatically. He's surprised by his visitor. "Mika? You've returned. How did your mission go?" Ein paid no mind to Ryoko's absence. He figured he was reporting to Miror B. as they spoke.

"Before I get into the details. I would like Haruka to be here." Mika said stoically.

Ein was a bit off put by this bizarre request. "I see, not sure what to think about that, but okay." He trusted Haruka like she was his own, but Mika explicitly asking for her made him worry. Ein picked up his desk phone and called Haruka's room. Keeping it on speaker.

"Hello?" Haruka's voice was tired and groggy.

"Yes, Haruka. I need you to come to my office right now." Ein said kindly, because he knew she wasn't much of a morning person.

She paused, "Okay. I'll be there in a few minutes." She sounded awful.

Mika looked nervous, "Is she alright?"

"Poor thing's been getting worse and worse. She's constantly distracting herself with her pet projects and not eating right. She'll get a few hours of sleep a night. Mostly because I force her to. I don't know what's going on." Ein couldn't explain Haruka's declining health or escapism.

Mika knew the signs, poor Haruka was love sick. She missed Ryoko. She missed being with him. Mika knew about Ryoko's little visit with her nights before, but that didn't do much to help Haruka. Which meant Mika's news was going to crush her.

A few minutes passed and Haruka stepped in. She wore a robe and slippers. Not really having time to get dressed properly. Her eyes were bleary with deep shadows under them from sleep deprivation and her brown hair looked like it'd be partly brushed to get the knots and bedhead out of it, but too little success. She looked around and saw their guest. "Mika?" She asked quietly.

"Morning Haruka." She said with a sweet smile.

"Now that Haruka's here, let us discuss the mission." Ein was ready for the debriefing.

Mika nodded, "Yes, the mission was a success. Mewtwo's data has been retrieved." She produced the drive. "On here is everything you need to know about Mewtwo's genetic code as well as experiment logs over the creation of the Pokemon. This information should go a long way towards your goals."

Ein smiled and collected the drive. "Perfect, you and Ryoko did very well. I'm sure he's being commended as we speak." Ein for once couldn't be prouder of him. Ryoko did something great for Cipher this day.

Mika sunk her head, "About that. Him and I got separated. The mission wasn't without its hiccups. Blaine became wise to our plan and brought in some heavy back up. Ryoko nobly used himself as a distraction for me and baited the authorities away. From there I unfortunately don't know what happened." She hated having to lie to Haruka like this, but the truth would have killed her.

Haruka's eyes widened. "Is he okay?" Haruka begged for an answer.

Mika shook her head, "I'm sorry, I don't know. He told me to tell you this though. He said, 'Don't worry. I love you.' He truly does. He'll come back to you, Haruka." Mika assured her.

Haruka ran up to Mika and put her hands on Mika's arms. Clenching them tightly. "What if he's in trouble? When will he be back? I have to know!" Haruka broke into tears. Too many uncertainties. She needed answers.

Mika shook her head, "I don't have an answer for you dear, but I know he'll be alright. Just don't be surprised if he's not back for a long time."

"A long time?" This was the final nail in the coffin. Haruka slumped down to her knees and started crying uncontrollably. Hadn't she waited long enough? How much long did she have to be away from the one she loved? Her heart couldn't take the pain.

"Haruka!" Ein got up and ran over to her. Putting a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Haruka, please calm down."

"She's not going to listen Ein." Mika knew this all too well. The pain was almost real to Haruka. She physically ached from this.

"That damn boy." Ein gritted his teeth.

"She loves him, Ein. You knew what that felt like once upon a time too." Mika further justified Haruka's behavior. She hated seeing her like this, but Mika knew that Haruka just needed to get the hurting out of her system and she'll feel better. It was all very cathartic, but Mika understood. Haruka's a young woman, Ryoko is her world to a certain extent.

Ein got up and took a seat back at his desk. Trying to ignore Haruka's crying. He didn't want to. Even Ein had the urge to want to comfort her and tell her everything will be alright. He knew they were no point though. Mika was right, and they needed to get down to business.

"So you've retrieved the data. Which means we can begin studying and experimenting immediately. We will start by creating simple cellular copies of Mewtwo's genes and seeing if we can infuse them with shadow aura. It may take months, even years, but we will not give up until we have our goal of a perfect Shadow Pokemon." Ein had a lot of time to think over the plan and how they could incorporate shadow aura into the natural growth of a Pokemon from egg to maturity. Then they could move onto making perfect shadows of fully matured Pokemon.

"If that's all you'll need of me, then I have one other thing to add." Mika prefaced.

Ein raised a brow, "Really now, and what is that?"

"As of now, I wish to officially retire from the field." Mika's tone suddenly got a lot more stoic.

Ein was shocked, "Retire? You're still in your prime and one of our best field agents." Ein wanted an explanation. He was ready to tell her no.

Mika looked down and ran a hand over her stomach, "Well, as you know Haruto and I have been trying for a while now." She paused, "Well, I found out during the mission that I'm pregnant. I don't want to do anything that could potentially harm my child."

Haruka looked up briefly, "Mika." Her voice was hoarse and shallow.

Ein nodded, "I see, that does present a dilemma. I would never ask you to do anything to endanger your life, or especially the life of your unborn child." He started typing on his computer. "Very well, if this is what you wish, then I can't stop you."

"Thank you, Ein." Mika let out a sigh and slowly helped Haruka to her feet. "Here dear, head back to your room and get cleaned up." She gently instructed Haruka.

"Haruka, once you've calm down I would like you to assisted me on this project. Come see me anytime." Ein tried being as compassionate as he could.

She nodded and wiped her tear stained cheeks. "Yes Ein." Her throat was still seized up pretty badly so she could barely get the words out.

She left with Mika, head still low. Mika walked back to her room as she tried comforting her, "Haruka, don't worry. Ryoko will be fine."

"Do you think he'll come back soon?" She asked with a slight gasp and wheeze. "Why hasn't he called yet?" Tears started falling down her face once more.

Mika stopped at Haruka's door and led her in. "I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you dear. Please, just don't let this get to you too much."

Haruka nodded and walked back into her room. She closed the door behind her and climbed back onto her bed. She laid there for a good few minutes staring at the ceiling. Grabbing her X-Transceiver. Haruka called Ryoko. No answer.

"Ryoko." She tried to get the words out, but her voice was trashed. "Please call me."

After a few more silent minutes, Haruka finally willed herself to get out of bed. She headed for the bathroom. She needed to wash up. She dropped her robe at the door and stepped in the shower. She turned on the water and curled up in a ball against the cold shower tiles while water rained down on her.

Elsewhere in Orre, "Come on," grunts and groans filled Chase's garage, "come on, you son of a-"

"Yo Chase!" Mei walked in with a smile and a bandage around her head.

"Hey Mei, ya mind givin' me a hand here? This SOB won't come loose." Chase tried her best to wretch a rusted bolt off.

Mei walked up and grabbed the wretch with Chase and pulled, "Damn that thing is tight. You sure they aren't fused at this point?" The pulled and pulled until it finally loosened up. Mei let out an exasperated sigh. "Holy crap that was really stuck on there." She walked up to the loft and grabbed a drink out of his fridge.

Chase noticed Mei's head, "Yo, what'd ya do to your head. Think too hard and cause a brain aneurysm?" He laughed.

Mei hopped on his couch, propped her feet up, and cracked open the beer. "No smart ass. I had a bit of a fall in the mines. Medics said I'm lucky I didn't fracture my skull or hit my temple." She was still left with a pretty intense concussion. Thankfully any really major brain damage was avoided.

"Damn, glad you're alright. How'd that happen?" Chase washed his hands off and climbed up to the loft with her.

"I was chasing after a rebel punk." The thought of Wes escaping yet again made Mei's blood boil. Then something flashed in her mind. Him frustrated that she hurt herself so bad chasing him. Sympathy, empathy, and a warm caring attitude. It made Mei sick that she was pitied by her enemy. What's worse is that she remembered thanking him. "I swear I'll get him one of these day." She balled her fist.

Chase didn't know what to say to this. He walked over to the fridge and grabbed himself a drink. "Well don't go gettin' yourself killed over it. God knows you three are the only ones who ever stick around for a visit. Where's Ryoko and Haruka anyway? I haven't seen'em in forever." Mei visited most frequently, but Haruka and Ryoko stopped by every now and then too.

Mei sighed, "Ryoko's still out on this big mission of his and Haruka's pretty much locked herself up in her room all day working. I know she loves tinkering with new inventions, but she seriously needs to get out more." She couldn't help worry about Haruka. Mei's notice Haruka run the gambit of obsessively attached to Ryoko and blatant apathy towards others. Mei hated thinking this way, but Haruka was not the most emotionally stable.

None of them had the best state of mind. Ryoko rebelled the hardest and has even had his own conflicts with morality. A subject Mei wished to avoid. While Mei herself struggled with her unwavering devotion to Cipher, often overlooking her own wellbeing. Case and point.

"What's she up to now?" Chase asked.

Mei shrugged, "I don't really know? She visited me when I was recovering, but I've been mostly stuck in the Phenac HQ so I couldn't really visit her. I just hope she's okay. Being away from Ryoko this long is probably really getting to her."

Haruka sat in the shower for a good hour. Sulking, crying, and whimpering. She cried until she had no tears left. Her eyes blood shot, throat dry, voice completely hoarse. She was a mess and she knew it. She couldn't help it. She needed answers. She got up slowly and put her robe back on. She was soaked to the bone as she walked out into her room. She walked to her desk and grabbed her walkie-talkie.

Her voice was quiet, rough, and completely devote of emotion. "Gonzap, I need you to do some digging for me."

A few minutes of silences fill the air before getting a response. "Go on." He said with obvious joy in his tone. A sinister, sick kind of joy. The kind the clearly bore a significant weight to it.

She didn't care. Haruka spoke up, "Get me everything you can on what happened on Cinnabar Island. What happened during Mika and Ryoko's mission?"

Gonzap pondered this for a minute. "Cinnabar Island? I didn't realize we had any activity in Kanto. I'll gladly have some of _our_ men do some digging. This will cost you. This and your information regarding Takumi of the rebellion. My dear." He laughed once more.

Haruka stared at her computer. Soullessly she began typing. She activated sevral special protocols and sent the data along. "There, this is a completely list of all the Shadow Pokemon being refined in the Key Lair as of yesterday. Now, get me results." She commanded, her tone cold as steel.

More silence overcame the room, "Right away, as for your inquiries about Takumi. Turns out he was once a member of Cipher. A founder at that. He, along with Ein, Nascour, Venus, and Miror B. were the first admins put in charge of Cipher under Master Greevil and Es Cade's command. He defected a couple years later. I'll continue looking, but there isn't much left on him." Gonzap informed her.

Haruka nodded to herself, "That's good enough. So he is a strong trainer for sure. Since they escaped." She said to herself.

"What do you mean? Did Cipher have a run in with him?" Gonzap wasn't privy to a lot of Cipher's intel.

"He showed up in the Deep Colosseum. I spied on their conversation. This was apparently important enough to hold a meeting between the leaders and all the admins." She freely admits to her covert deception.

Gonzap smiled gleefully, "My, my Haruka. You've gotten daring. You're proving to be an excellent double agent."

Haruka just stared blankly. Freeing selling her soul for information. She would damn herself to make sure Ryoko was safe. After all, he would do the same for her. "Just find out what happened to Ryoko."

"Very well, I have men on it right now. Now might I ask what he was doing on Cinnabar Island?" Gonzap's curiosity was certainly piqued.

"Trying to obtain Mewtwo's data. Ein wants to make a permanent Shadow Pokemon." Haruka was very forthcoming with this information.

Gonzap was almost too stunned for words, "My, Cipher's certainly getting ambitious. A man made Pokemon with the strength of a legendary Pokemon? Ein has my respect. A man like him would appreciate what we want to create with my ideals." Gonzap was wrapped up in his own fantasies. Haruka just cared about finding out where Ryoko could be.

"You know what I care about so get back to me when you've learned something." Haruka was officially done with this conversation.

"Very well." Gonzap laid down his walkie-talkie. His desk was strewn with papers. He had pictures, documents, intelligence reports, and more than a few classified folders. He gathered them up and put them in a trash bin. "Takumi, your ties to Cipher run deep. I can't afford to let this information fall into _her _hands. At least, not yet." Gonzap pulled out a Pokeball. "Houndoom. Flamethrower." The Fire Type looked at the bin and torched the contents without a second thought. "Well that was a game changer. Suddenly things have gotten a lot more interesting." He sat confidently with a sinister smile across his face.

One of his men walks up. "Sir, we have a report, sir."

"That was quick. What's the word?" Gonzap leaned back in his chair.

"Turns out Ryoko of Team Cipher stole the data from Blaine, but he'd caught them in the middle of the night. The following reports say he fled authorities while his accomplice escaped with the data. Both Blaine and the witness reports back this up." He told Gonzap everything Blaine had told him.

Little did they know of the falsehoods. They were smart to craft this lie to protect Ryoko. Nevertheless, this didn't suffice for Gonzap. He couldn't tell Haruka what she most likely already knew. "Keep digging. There has to be more to it than this." The man saluted and left the room. "Something isn't adding up here. There are too many wild cards in play right now." Gonzap paused and started to laugh. "Why am I worried? This is perfect! The more I pull Haruka the faster Cipher's house of cards will collapse." Insurrection was the name of the game for Gonzap. The wild cards could very well plant the seeds of betray to topple Cipher and all Gonzap needed to do was sit back until he found the perfect chance to strike.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Things are definitely getting more complex. That's one thing I'm loving about SD. Tia's Tales at least loosely follows the events of the games. While SD was slower in the beginning, it's all been to set the stage for much larger and deeper events. A lot of double crossing, deception, depression, and mystery. I'm really hoping this is catching peoples' attention.


	28. Chapter 26: From Dusk to the Dawn

Chapter 26: From Dusk to the Dawn

About a month has passed, Pallet Town was calm as it always was. A quaint town just South of Viridian City. A trainer was making his way to Pallet with one goal in mind. To get his starter Pokemon and begin his training anew.

Ryoko walked down the trail with a calm, almost pleasant smile on his face. His time on the S.S. Anne had done him a world of good. Though, he hated ignoring calls from Haruka. It was too soon for her to know what had happened to him. No doubt Cipher admins were beginning to grow suspicious or assume he was dead. Frankly, the latter would ironically make Ryoko's life easier. Regardless, it was hard to not answer Haruka's calls. Especially when she called him over one hundred times in the month. Three to four times a day. Ryoko worried for her mental wellbeing, he could not say he wouldn't be doing the same thing.

He looked at his X-Transceiver. It took him a few days to get to Pallet Town, and Haruka had called about a dozen more times. Ryoko sighed and started dialing. "Yeah, it's me. I'm almost to Pallet Town." Ryoko informed someone on the other end of the line.

"Perfect, I already told Prof. Oak, he should be expecting a new trainer." The voice was of a younger man. Younger than Ryoko.

"Thank you, Tom. I have to ask. Why are you doing this for me?" Ryoko didn't do anything to earn Tom's aid. If anything, he figured the champion wouldn't dare associate with a known criminal like Ryoko.

Tom chuckled, "Think of it as my way of fighting Cipher. I can't directly confront them due to Cipher's strict laws in Orre. You're a former member of Cipher though. You are breaking the law, but a rogue agent doesn't have to deal with stupid laws. I, unfortunately, hold a position of power." Ironically the very thing that gave Tom power and influence was limiting his ability to act. "So while I can't do anything now, when you're ready to make your final push, you know I'll be there to help." Tom further explained.

"So I'm your go-between. You're a weird kid, you know that?" Ryoko commented.

"I'm not a kid!" Tom shouted. He regained his composure. "Anyway, just check in with Oak and you'll be all set. Good luck Ryoko. Keep me posted."

"Can do. Thanks Tom." Ryoko hung up. A new ally in hand. He needed them. At least the world champion had his back. That was a powerful ally to have. Ryoko was still apprehensions about visiting Pallet Town since he knew who lived there.

Ryoko couldn't get over how small and quaint the town was. It kind of reminded him of Agate in Orre. A peaceful and friendly town. He quickly found Prof. Oak's lab. It stood out like a sore thumb amidst the small houses. Ryoko quietly made his way through town. It was a bit past one, but no one seemed to be out. Not that the town had much population to speak off.

One sound did break the silence, a door flying open and a young man projecting his voice from inside. "Hey mom, I'm off to visit Anna. I'll see you later. Don't worry about dinner." The boisterous young man ran outside, but stopped suddenly when he saw Ryoko. "Whoa, sorry buddy. I didn't see you there." He examined Ryoko for a moment. Ryoko had changed up his attire a bit. More traditional trainer attire. Blue jeans, a black under shirt, and a red and white jacket. His darker complexion still stood out like a sore thumb however. "You must be a new trainer." He assessed, since that was pretty much the only reason people visited Pallet Town.

Ryoko nodded, "Yeah, I'm visited Prof. Oak to get my first Pokemon."

"Awesome, I'll take you to him. Name's Red by the way." He offered Ryoko a hand. Ryoko knew all about him already thanks to Team Rocket's research. He was worried about what he could do, but moreover what would happen if his sister caught wind of Ryoko's presence.

Ryoko shook his hand, "Nice to meet you, Red." The continued to Prof. Oak's lab. Inside was Oak and his aides hard at work as usual. The Professor was ready for Ryoko though.

"Ah hello there. You must be the new trainer Tom told me about." He glanced at Red, "Red, nice seeing you too."

"Hey professor." Red waved. "So you know what Pokemon you're getting man?" Red realized Ryoko never told him his name.

"I've thought about it a bit. All three have solid strength's, as well as their fair share of weaknesses. I know what I want though." Ryoko assessed.

"Before we do that, may I have your name." Prof. Oak asked.

He nodded, "Right, my name's Ryo."

"Ryo. Where are you from?" Oak collected information for the trainer's license.

There was a brief pause. "I'm from the Orre Region."

Oak looked troubled by this fact. "I see; I've heard there's a lot of unrest in the Orre Region. A group known as Team Cipher has been doing some pretty questionable things."

"I know; I was once one of them." Ryo confessed. "My real name is Ryoko. I was one of Cipher's elite agents. Raised by them to be a future admin. I've done some truly unforgiveable things. I'm sure you remember the massive battle in Viridian City." Ryo confessed his sins.

"Wait, that was you? Cipher. Ryoko. You're the guy my sister had to fight off at the Lake of Rage! Then you went and stole Mewtwo's data from Blaine!" Red barked.

Ryo nodded, "I regret that. I regret interfering, trying to steal Gyarados, and mostly that Team Rocket was trying to copy Cipher tech. I regret helping Cipher get their hands on Mewtwo's data. What's worse is that idea was mine in the first place." Ryo still hated that decision, but it ultimately sent him down this path. He looked up at Red once more. "I know all about you, Red. You have the legendary Pokemon Mew. Blaine has Mewtwo. Tom and Rayquaza. Sabrina and Meloetta. As well as the new Goldenrod City gym leader with Regigigas."

Red's eyes sharpened as he grabbed Ryo by the collar. "I don't care what you know about me, but you better stay the hell away from my girlfriend."

Ryo nodded and gave him a smile, "I wouldn't think about it. There's someone I love very much. She's waiting for me back in Orre. So I know how you feel about wanting to protect the one you care about with all your heart." Ryo paused and thought about his words. He laughed to himself, "Do I deserve to say I _have _a heart?" Ryo asked himself.

Red let go and took a deep breath, "Sorry, I lost my head."

Ryo shook his head, "It's not your fault. I deserved it. To be honest, after seeing the results of the World Tournament. I wouldn't try taking any of you on." One of the highlights of the last leg of Ryo's cruise was a live broadcasting of the PWT for all the trainers to watch.

Prof. Oak cleared his throat, "Well I suppose that's all settled. Circumstances aside, you are still a _new _trainer in this region. So we will get your registered Ryo, then you may choose a Pokemon." He very calmly filled out the form. "Alright, your name for all intents and purposes is Ryo, you said. Region of origin. Orre alright?" Ryo nodded. He wasn't going to hide it anymore. "Alright and age?"

"Eighteen. I already know who I want as a starter." Ryo informed Oak.

Oak smiled, "Then by all means make your choice."

Ryo walked up and grabbed the first Pokeball. The small pedestal it sat on had a flame symbol on it. "I choose Charmander." Ryo called out Charmander who looked up with a slight look of confusion, but quickly warmed up to Ryo.

"Charmander, good choice." Red gave his approval.

"That the starter you went with?" Ryo smirked as he picked up his starter.

"You know it, because Charmander's the best choice." Red joked. "Gary Oak chose Squirtle and Tia chose Bulbasaur. Kind of funny the three of us all chose a different one."

"Speaking of your sister, please don't tell her about meeting me. I want as few people as possible knowing about where I am and what I'm doing." Ryo requested.

Red waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. T's too busy competing in the Hoenn League to come hunt you down. Besides, you don't give yourself enough credit. You've come to this decision. So you can't be as bad as you think you are." Red assured him.

"Thanks Red." Ryo shook his hand and collected his Pokedex and Pokeballs. "Thank you as well Professor."

Prof. Oak smiled, "You're welcome Ryo. I wish you luck in all your journeys going forward."

Ryo stepped out and looked to the sky. This was the start of a new journey and a new chapter in his life. The path led by light was before him. Still, the adversities will be immeasurable. He'll need to get stronger not only as a trainer, but as a person too. Ryo set down his Charmander and let him walk around for himself. "Alright, Charmander it's you and me now. We'll get stronger together. I promise." Charmander nuzzled his cheek against Ryo's leg.

It was going to be a long journey for sure. Ryo went the extra mile to deposit all his other Pokemon, sans Dragonair, into the PC as well. They were his friends and he knew above all else he could rely on them, but Ryo needed to do this without them. To get stronger without the team that has helped carry him so far. He just regretted that the path they took together was one of destruction and hatred.

Ryo had a very rare opportunity before him. One that many would do anything for. A fresh start. A new identity, shedding off the name Ryoko. Ryo took his first step towards the new him. In Route 1, it was quite and quaint for sure. The tranquil air of Kanto was a stark contrast to Orre's. Strange, Ryo hadn't really taken time to notice. Despite all the time he was in Kanto with Mika. He figured now he could at least stop and smell the Roselia.

Ryo wanted to make sure he took his time, but he couldn't help feel a bit rushed. There was a lot at stake and the longer he spent away the worse things could get. Blaine had informed Ryo that he had to explain away several shady figures. From what Blaine told Ryo, the men acted completely in line for how a Team Cipher agent would act undercover. Subtly wasn't exactly their strong suit. There was another group that caught Ryo attention. Bald men, who seemed a bit rough around the edges. Would Snagem and Gonzap be investigating too? That was beyond Ryo, but no one knew where he was so he dismissed it.

Charmander was raring to go. He smiled wide and ran into the tall grass looking for wild Pokemon. "Someone's excited. Let's test your skill against some Pokemon." A handful of wild Rattata and Pidgey were hardly a challenge for Ryo. Charmander was especially tough. A very rash Pokemon, but kind and affectionate. He kind of reminded Ryo of Mei.

While working their way through a handful of Pokemon, Ryo and Charmander found their way near the end of the route. Ryo rewarded Charmander with an Oran Berry he picked from one of the trees for working so hard. He certainly deserved it. They paused when the distinct sound of bushes rustling caught their attention.

What emerged was a shock for sure. It wasn't a Pokemon, but a young girl no older than sixteen. She looked at Ryo for a second and scurried over to him. She got right in Ryo's face and took his hands. "Please fair traveler, have you seen my king?" She begged.

Ryo looked very confused. He wrestled his hands free and turned on his heels. "Charmander, it is very important we do not associate with unsavory trainers. They could be dangerous." Ryo knew all about that.

"I am not unsavory!" The girl defended. She ran up to Ryo, blocking the path with her arms out stretched. "I shall ask once more. Have you seen my king?" The girl looked determined. The girl in question wore an unusual outfit. A thin white and blue long sleeved shirt. Solid black leggings up to her waist with frilled, yellow shorts. A pink visor on her head and long, brown hair done in two buns with ponytails coming off each side.

"Do I look like I've seen royalty? Besides, do things like kings and queens still exist?" Ryo had to ask. He didn't know of an official royalty in any of the regions.

"Please sir, it of the utmost important. He is a tall man, skin white like fine silk, and flowing, green hair." She spoke in a very odd manner.

"Yeah, definitely never run into a guy like that. Sounds to me like you're a stalker though. I wouldn't tell you even if I did know." Ryo moved on with Charmander.

"Stalker. I shalt take such an insult! I am King N's most loyal vassal, Rosa!" She declared.

Ryo paused, "Wait. King N?"

"So you do know, scoundrel." She sneered.

Ryo shook his head, "No, I know _of _him. He was the guy in charge of Plasma before the fall right?" Ryo tried to remember his history right.

Rosa nodded, "The very same. Before Ghetsis and his fellow sages undermined my king's noble plans for Unova. Then the infernal Black Hero defeated him. Since that day I have been unable to locate him. My heart longs for his smile, his gentle eyes, and soothing voice." Rosa was definitely one for the dramatics.

"I'm walking away now." Ryo pulled another one-eighty.

"Wait, do not go stranger! I need assistance." Rosa grabbed Ryo by the arm.

He shrugged her off, "Look, I'm not interesting in LARPing so could you just leave us along. You know, before your crazy rubs off on us." Ryo was completely unsympathetic.

"LARPing?" Rosa didn't follow. "This is no game. I am most serious."

Charmander looked back at Rosa and tugged on Ryo's pant leg. Ryo sighed, "Fine, how can I help?"

Rosa's eyes lit up like a clear blue sky. "Thank you stranger!"

"Yeah, yeah. It's Ryo by the way." He decided to help the potentially delusional girl out.

"You are like a knight in shining armor Ryo. You and I shall search every corner of this region. Nay, this earth until we find him!" Rosa very boldly declared.

"Now wait, I didn't sign up for that!" Ryo protested.

"Too late, it's written in blood." She grinned from ear-to-ear.

"Whose blood?" Ryo continued to argue for his freedom.

Rosa took Ryo by the arm and ran towards Viridian City. Being roped into a new goal. Finding N. Whether he wanted to or not. This was indeed the start of a grand adventure.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Ryo's journey begins anew. I'm sure seeing Rosa was a surprise to many. Especially in her Pokemon Adventures form. Mind you, I went all in on the fanatical vassal to N. Trust me, she'll tie into the plot a lot going forward. Especially when Tia's Tales gets to Unova. This was a lot more lighthearted than previous chapters of SD as well. A bit of a contrast to how events in Orre will be handled.


	29. Chapter 27: Bright Beginnings

Chapter 27: Bright Beginnings

Ryo's adventures through Kanto immediate began with an odd turn. He wanted to focus on his training and completing this journey as soon as possible so he could return to Orre. He understood it wouldn't be that simple once all was said and done, but a new issue had arisen.

"Excuse me fair lady, have you seen my king?" Rosa asked about the dozenth person since stepping into Viridian City. Most people responded with an awkward stare and cold silence. Rosa's eccentricities and bizarre mannerisms posed the largest barrier.

Ryo pinched the bridge of his nose, "Why do you talk like that?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Rosa clearly didn't hear it.

"The way you speak. It's so prim and proper. Like your straight out of a story book with knights and nobility." Ryo tried his best to explain it to Rosa.

"I can see how my mannerisms would give pause, but it is simply how I was raised. I was knighted under Team Plasma at a young age. Both my mother and father were loyal to Sage Ghetsis and King N's new world order. The liberation of Pokemon. I still see it as a noble cause. Though I have accepted that trainers and Pokemon have a symbiotic relationship to a certain extent." Rosa talked about herself a bit and really opened Ryo's eyes.

"So you were raised by Team Plasma?" The parallel was almost uncanny. Maybe they were meant to meet? Ryo couldn't fault her for that level of loyalty then.

"Raised by Plasma mayhaps be one way to describe it. My parents raised me unassisted, it was not like I was raised to be a member of Team Plasma. Though I was constantly exposed and grew up around it. My choice to choose Team Plasma was entirely my own." Rosa did have much more choice than Ryo, who was orphaned from birth.

"I see, I wish I had that choice. I was forced into Team Cipher." He said rather casually.

"Team Cipher?" Rosa narrowed her gaze. "Fiend." She sneered.

Ryo raised his hands defensively. "Woah calm down Rosa, I'm not with them anymore. Actually, that's why I'm here in Kanto. I need to get stronger so I can eventually return to the Orre Region and stop Cipher." Ryo reiterated his plan. Something he did for himself a lot. He could not ever forget why he was fighting. What he was fighting for. Haruka was waiting for him.

Rosa sighed, "My sincerities apologizes. You are an erstwhile member. That I can believe. We must be off. My king awaits."

Ryo spoke up, "I said I'd help, but I have my own agenda too, you know. Who says N wants to be found anyway?"

Rosa paused, "I oft ask myself the same question, but nevertheless I must find him." Rosa had an unbreakable resolve. Like a knight truly loyal to her king.

"You must really care about him." Ryo smiled. He took the lead and headed for the Pokemon Center.

Rosa walked alongside Ryo as she scanned the area. "It is not as if he is my swain. I do care for him the way any loyal knight would be. It is not as if I do not recognize he can take care of himself. I, as his knight, have a sworn duty to protect him. A duty I will carry to the grave." Rosa's unwavering loyalty to N reminded Ryo's own relationship with Haruka. Both borderline obsessive.

"I get it." He thought for a moment. "What's a swain?" Ryo felt like he needed a dictionary if he wanted to continue travelling with Rosa.

"A younger suitor. As loyal as I am. I understand my king does not love me in such a way." Rosa commented.

"Does that bother you?" Ryo wondered if she was pursuing a ghost of a chance at love. Which would be depressing to see her feelings not reciprocated.

"Not in the least. I love my king as his loyal vassal. Nothing more, nothing less." Rosa was very concise about this. Ryo was relieved to hear that though.

"That's good, why are you looking for him in Kanto anyway?" Ryo figured Unova would be the first, and most logical, place to look.

"I have spent years searching for my king. Unova, Sinnoh, Hoenn, Johto, even Kalos." Rosa let out a sigh.

"Kalos? Where's that?" It's not a region Ryo was familiar with.

"It's a far off region. They do not yet have an established Pokemon league so they are not talked about too much. My king was also not there, so it means nothing to me." Rosa turned up her nose.

"Harsh, well it's looking like N's not in Viridian City so we should probably move on. North of here is the Viridian Forest and Pewter City. Maybe you'll have better luck there." That and Ryo wanted to get on with his training and challenging the Pokemon league.

"Yes, the forest. My king loved spending time with Pokemon in the wild. Viridian Forest would be the perfect place to begin our search." Rosa waited for Ryo to heal up his Charmander and set off with their next goal in mind.

Ryo had his doubts about this, but if it got Rosa moving then he'd keep telling her maybe the next town until their bizarre journey was over and down. He couldn't really feel too bad about it since realistically he had no better idea where N was than she did. If Ryo had to bet he'd say N was most likely not even in Kanto.

The path through Viridian Forest was pretty straight forward with turns here and there. It was a tranquil route for sure. The abundance of flora was definitely new for Ryo. He'd take anything over the endless expanses of desert he called home. There was a slight breeze in the air that passed softly through his hair. Haruka would love this place, he thought. Ryo wanted to keep a list of all the places he'd love to see with her once they were free from Cipher's control.

Ryo was enjoying the forest walk, but he found himself frequently stopping to wait on a certain travelling companion. "Rosa, I seriously doubt N's hiding in some bushes."

Rosa was currently waist deep, bent over in a bush. "You mustn't assume. My king was quite clever and always knew the best hiding places. It would take the sages hours to find him. Anthea and Concordia even had trouble finding him. Not me though, in days of yore we played hide and seek for hours." She pulled her head out of the bush. Her hair was now covered in leaves and twigs.

"Anthea and Concordia?" Ryo asked.

"King N's sisters."

"I see, so you and N are close in age?" There was little Ryo knew about the events that went down in Unova all those years back, but he figured N was at least older than he was.

"King N is a few years my senior, but growing up we were nigh inseparable. I served him humbly and happily. My king even knighted me as one of his first decrees." Rosa gushed.

Ryo chuckled, "I know a thing or two about that. Growing up my closest friends were with me all the time. Mei, my closest friend was like a big sister to me. I looked up to her, we're more on an even playing field now, but she can still beat me in a battle." Ryo smiled at the fond memories of growing up with Mei and Haruka in Cipher. That smile slowly faded as he thought more about his current situation. Those days were gone, there was very real chance that Mei will see him as an enemy when he returned. The innocent days of their youth will never come back.

Rosa walked over, "You seem troubled."

"It's nothing, just things I'll have to deal with when I return to Orre." Ryo dropped the topic.

"I see, when then mayhaps there is one way to fix your sullied mood." Rosa held up a Pokeball. "A true sport of kings. Pokemon battles, let's venture forth and find perspective trainers to engage in the time honored art." Rosa suddenly spoke with much more purpose and a dramatic flair. Turns out she loved a good battle as much as the next trainer.

Ryo followed alongside Rosa would sought out trainers. The forest was quite dense when going off the beaten path. Ryo called out Charmander to let him enjoy the fresh air as well. Being stuck in a Pokeball all day must not be all that fun. Ryo now felt bad he didn't let his other Pokemon out more. He felt bad for a lot of reasons. He swore to them all he would get stronger and treat them with love and compassion.

Ryo's thoughts were interrupted, "Look yonder." Rosa pointed, "Let us beseech them for a battle."

"I'd highly advise against talking like that, but sure." Rosa did not listen and ran towards the trainers.

"Heed!" She shouted, "Thou art trainers. We shall battle and there is nary a thing thee can do to stop this decree!" Rosa exclaimed.

Ryo pinched the bridge of his nose and walked up, "Whatever she said."

"Is this chick for real?" An older bug catcher asked.

"Is she like an actress or something? She method acting?" A picnicker asked his friend.

"Heed, I said. It is rude to ignore a knight's besought challenge." Rosa seemed to be battling a language barrier more than anything.

"Hey buddy, is your girlfriend alright?" The bug catcher turned to Ryo.

"He is not my suitor." Rosa tried to explain.

"I'm just traveling with her, guys." Ryo shrugged, "Want to battle?" His approach was far more laid back.

The two looked at one another, "Sure. Who gets to battle who?"

"Well, all I've got is a Charmander." Ryo explained.

The picnicker spoke up, "So your new like me?"

"New to the region anyway. So I guess your bug catcher friend is Rosa's opponent." If Ryo had his normal team this wouldn't be a challenge, but he needed to work with Charmander. So this was in a way the true test.

"Great, I get the crazy one." The bug catcher groaned.

"Bite your tongue plebian. Now, let us engage in the time honored tradition heralded across the lands." Rosa took her first Pokeball. "Go forth my noble Kingdra!"

"Go Beedrill!" The two were in the zone now. Rosa and her opponent squared off. A Kingdra was a force to be reckoned with, but the bug catcher didn't back down. "Drill Run!" Beedrill darted through the air towards Kingdra. Beedrill's speed was incredible, but Rosa kept up well with its movements.

"Use your Dragon Dance my Kingdra." Rosa wasn't afraid of a Drill Run from Beedrill. The sharp drills of Beedrill's dug into Kingdra's stomach, but he was not particularly bothered by it. "Good show Kingdra, now show them the might of our Waterfall!" Rosa spoke with such power and confidence. She had total faith in her Pokemon's capabilities. Kingdra amassed a huge torrent of water that came crashing down on Beedrill, washing it back from the force of the attack. "Now unleash the might of your Dragon Pulse!"

"Crap, use Protect Beedrill!" The bug catcher was definitely on the ropes at this point. He couldn't afford a lot of hits with his rather fragile Beedrill. The burst of intense energy fires right at Beedrill, but it crossed its drill arms and formed a barrier in front of itself. The attack washed over Beedrill harmlessly. "Now use Poison Jab!" Beedrill dropped the Protect and flew forward.

"Kingdra let us end this with a fierce Outrage!" Kingdra was fast, but Beedrill's preemptive Poison Jab connected nonetheless. Kingdra started to heat up as waves of energy expelled outward. Kingdra thrashed around and blasted Beedrill with his enormous amounts of energy.

"Holy crap." Ryo saw this for himself. A Kingdra was a powerful Pokemon for sure, but Rosa commanded it perfectly and even used such a powerful move. She was definitely a stronger trainer than he'd previously expected. Ryo himself beat his opponent with little effort, but it was good experience for Charmander nonetheless. So every bit helped.

Rosa gave a satisfied smile to her Kingdra and called him back into his Pokeball. "Well fought, trainer. Hone and refine that strength and mayhaps we will do battle again someday."

"Um… yeah. Maybe." He still couldn't get over her mannerisms and way of speaking. He admired Rosa's strength, but also acknowledged she was a bit off.

"Let's get going." Ryo and Rosa collected their winnings and continued through the forest.

"Yes, let us venture forth to new challenges." She froze. "Curses!"

"What?" Ryo paused and saw Rosa looked quite distressed.

"I was so engrossed in the heat of battle it completely slipped my mind to ask if either of them have seen my king." She turned on her heels and started back towards the trainers. Ryo grabbed her by the wrist and started pulling her back. "Unhand me, brute. That is no way to treat a maiden or a noble knight." She said in a very haughty tone.

"I'm sure they haven't seen him, now come on. We're losing daylight." They had spent quite a while travelling so far and night would be coming soon. They may not make it out of the forest before night, but going back to ask if two random guys had seen N seemed like a big waste of time.

Rosa scowled, but a low groaning distracted them both. Rosa's stomach growled something awful. "Curses, betrayed by my own stomach. Fine, but we ask everyone hence forth." She pointed at Ryo's face.

He rolled his eyes and let go of her wrist. "Fine, but don't expect that to change anything." He knew he couldn't stop her long, thankfully her hunger got the better of her. Ryo convinced Rosa to stop for the time being to eat, but he knew the second they were done she'd be back on the hunt.

A grand adventure was shaping up indeed. Neither knew what would lie in store. Especially Ryo. While he was travelling peacefully through the region of Kanto. Dark things were brewing in Orre. Forces were rising up to disrupt the status quo. New turmoil was just under the surface, and this time, no one was safe.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Just a bit more of a laid back chapter this time around. Most of this was to establish more of Rosa's character and motivations. I was so tempted to call her Mei, since that's her Japanese name and the basis for Mei's name in the SD. Much like how Haruka is May's Japanese name. Funny how Both Rosa and May both showed up at the same time in the release order for my chapters.


	30. Chapter 28: Nebulous Intentions

Chapter 28: Nebulous Intentions

Over a month had passed since Ryoko's sudden disappearance. Admins and fellow agents alike were beginning to fear the worst. Ryoko may never come back. One of Cipher's golden agents could very well be dead. No reports came in regarding his arrest. More questions than answers began to surface. All the uncertainly caused Haruka to spiral further into a crippling state of depression and worry. Locking herself in her room and refusing to eat. Working endlessly and sleeping less.

Mei was growing increasingly concerned. "Haruka, this is unhealthy. Look, I know you're worried about Ryoko. I am too, but you can't keep doing this to your body." She tried reasoning with her friend, but it was all for not.

"I _will_ find him, Mei. I will search every record I can, public or private." Haruka was going to every extreme she could. When she wasn't trying to locate Ryoko. She was perfecting more and more of her gadgets. She would fall asleep at her desk from exhaustion. She wouldn't eat; she wouldn't drink. She was focused on one thing and one thing only. Finding the man, she loved. She would have run to Kanto herself if Ein hadn't forcefully stopped her on numerous occasions.

Ein, himself wasn't especially proud of his actions either. Haruka was stubborn and obstinate. She simply refused to cooperate. He literally had to inject with an I.V. to get her to eat. Even that faced heavy resistances. In his most desperate measures he would sit in her room and watch her eat. He was able to get her to do that much. He cared and she acknowledged this. What killed Ein was how often he had to drug her food to force her to go to sleep. It was sickening even to him.

All this emotional torture Haruka was going through only made Ein's feelings for Ryoko to go from lukewarm to total distain. For Ryoko's own sake he'd better be dead, Ein told himself constantly. Everyone was afraid to pull that trigger though. If Cipher declared or confirmed Ryoko was dead, then Haruka would no doubt need to be put under twenty-four-hour suicide watch.

There was also a great deal of pressure from the higher-ups like Nascour, Es Cade, and Evice. They helped fund Ein's program to begin with so naturally if one of the agents proved ineffective or was put out of commission permanent before reaching their goal, then Ein would be in very hot water. Two out of three wasn't going to cut it. One out of three at the rate this seemed to be going.

Ein always felt Haruka was too close to Ryoko. She loved him, but that love grew into an obsession. She simply couldn't live without him. This was becoming very apparently and quite literal it seemed. Everyone was troubled by this.

Mei tried her best to reason with Haruka. "Haruka listen to me. You're killing yourself. How would Ryoko feel if he saw you think way?"

"Mei, I've heard it all before. Just leave me alone. Okay?" Haruka was even growing distance from her best friend.

Mei shook her head, "Okay, but I'm coming back tomorrow." As she had every day prior. Mei stepped out and was taken aback by who stood just outside the door.

"How is she doing?" Ein asked almost like an equal or concerned father.

"Not a lot's changed. I know she needs to eat and sleep, but force feeding her and drugging her can't be the right approach." Mei voiced her opinion.

Ein nodded, "It's sadly the only method we can get to work. She refuses to talk to a shrink. A couple weeks back she went to Mika practically begging for answers as to Ryoko's disappearance. I even questioned her on it. The trail always ran cold at; he drew attention from Mika. What happened after that is unknown. No eye witness reports. No records of arrest. No body found. Ryoko somehow just disappeared without a trace." Ein explained to Mei. This wasn't the first she heard of this, but it shed a bit more light on the situation.

"Then why not have a team investigate Kanto?" Mei offered.

"We can't exactly do that without fears of outing Ryoko as an agent. An agent who was performing an off the books investigation without consent of the local authorities. If that got out that we were performing illegal ops on foreign soil we'd basically be opening the doors to the rest of the world to weed through our operations history." Ein pinched the bridge of his nose. This level of bureaucratic Tauros crap was Snattle's job, not his.

"Which would create more problems than losing one agent." Mei hated admitting it, but losing Ryoko was a considerably smaller loss that Cipher being outed before the whole world.

"I won't sugar coat it Mei. You're twenty-one years old and have been with us for your entire life. Cipher has done many things that violate the rights of people and Pokemon. It's how we've gained the influence have now. Cipher has done countless illegal acts." Ein fully confessed this.

"All for the betterment of the region. The quality of life in Orre in Cipher controlled districts and areas are considerably better off than the places that aren't." She had no qualms with limiting the rights of the citizens and agents if it directly translated to a higher quality of living.

Ein nodded, "You will make an excellent admin someday." While Haruka was always his golden agent, Ein never doubted the abilities and devotion Mei had. She just had particular struggles with one rebel. "Thank you for continuing to visit Haruka. I'm sure she appreciates it a lot more than she'll admit."

"Thank you, Ein. I need to get back to Phenac for now." Mei respectfully showed herself out. Though not without reservations. Mei couldn't hang over Haruka day and night though. She had other duties to worry about other than simply looking after her friend.

Haruka couldn't hear them from her room. Even if she could, she knew already what Ein was doing. She knew the feeling of drug induced sleep. She knew sleep was hindering her mental processes too, but Haruka couldn't bring herself to sleep. Nightmares flooded her mind of what could have happened to Ryoko.

As she worked Haruka's hand slipped from her excessive fatigue. "Dammit!" She shouted as she the screwdriver slipped and cracked a microprocessor. She assessed the damages. "It's totaled. I'll have to go to Gateon to get a new one." She slowly got to her feet, but struggled to stabilize herself. She'd made a small handful of visits to Gateon over the month, but they were less frequent and very short lived. She looked herself over in the mirror.

To say she looked like death warmed over would be generous. She groaned and quickly showered. Haruka felt the struggle to stay awake so she blasted herself with cold water to keep her in at least a somewhat cognitive state.

She got dressed, thankfully people have been courteous enough to wash her clothes for her. Then headed out. She teleported to the heart of Gateon Port. She winced at the natural sunlight. It wasn't something she was used to seeing on a regular basis recently. The more she moved around the more she was starting to feel weak. She tried staying stable, but the whole world felt like it was spinning. She collected herself enough to take a seat on a bench near the ocean. There she rested herself and tried regaining what little strength she had.

She breathed heavily as she tried getting her strength back, but her body had no fuel. Sleep denervation, dehydration, and starvation were all kicking in at once. "Haruka?" She heard a familiar voice. "Oh my god, Haruka are you alright?" She opened her eyes. It was Wes of all people.

"Wes?" She opened her eyes and stared bleary eyed at Wes.

"My god, you look terrible. Are you alright?" Wes sat down beside her. Once more disregarding her position as his enemy in Cipher to help a person out.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just haven't gotten a lot of sleep or nutrients. I'll be fine." She weakly argued.

Wes shook his head, "Oh no, you need to eat. I can practically see your ribs." Her malnourished body was pretty evident. "Come on," He slowly helped her up.

"Why are you helping me?" She asked. Haruka knew perfectly well he was the enemy. She wasn't naïve enough to think Wes hadn't realized she was with Cipher either. What angle was Wes playing? Haruka couldn't help be suspicious, but it wasn't like she had the power to stop him.

Wes raised an eyebrow at her question, "Well, I'm not going to ignore someone who is _literally _starving. Plus, you helped me. This can be my way of paying you back." Haruka did help Wes and for that he was grateful. Of course he had no idea about Haruka's slight modifications to the power supply.

The two find a nice restaurant and bar in town. It was a pretty popular spot. Haruka smiled sweetly, "I used to love coming her with-" She paused. With Ryoko. More terrible feelings boiled to the surface. Tears roll down her face.

Wes looked shocked, "Woah, Haruka why are you crying?"

She shook her head, her lip quivering. "I'm sorry, I'm not in a very good place right now." She confessed as she desperately tried and failed to keep her composure.

"I can tell. What's wrong?" Wes sympathetically pats her on the shoulder to comfort her.

"Someone important to me has gone missing. He's been gone for over a month and I can't get into contact with him." Her head sank.

"Your boyfriend?" Wes guessed.

"Yeah, god I'm such a mess I shouldn't be out." She started to stand, but couldn't physically bring herself to get up.

"Just relax, I know it's hard, but it'll be fine." Wes assured her. A blind assurance, but he had to give her some glimmer of hope that things will be alright.

"I wish it were that easy." The waitress came by and Wes ordered drinks for them. "Why do you care anyway?" She figured he had no reason to be so selfless. There was very little chance in her mind that Wes didn't know who she was. Yet he was still being so nice to her.

Wes wasn't as perplexed. Knowing who Haruka was or not had nothing to do with the fact she was a woman dealing with a lot of emotional struggles. Friend or foe, it was still heart breaking to see. "You are worry yourself to death over this practically. How could I ignore that?" It seemed ridiculous, but he could see why a Cipher agent wouldn't be so selfless in their thinking. He wasn't holding that against her for the time being.

She cracked a small smile, "You're very honest and genuine. You don't see that a lot around here."

Wes was surprised by this, "What can I say? I'm just an honest person." The waitress returns with their drinks. Wes drank his at a fairly reasonable pace. Haruka hesitated at first, but finally caved. Practically inhaling her drink. "Thank god for unlimited refills am I right?" Wes joked.

Haruka laughed a bit, "No kidding, thank you, Wes. This has helped a bit. It's just, I hate not knowing where Ryoko is." Her mood plummets once more.

"That your boyfriend's name?" Wes asked. She gave a somber nod, "Anyone ever tell him that's a girl's name?" Wes smirked.

Haruka looked surprised, but chuckled again. "Yeah, he got that a lot growing up. He would get so mad, then he'd act all tough and say it meant warrior. It really means good child." She smiled nostalgically.

Wes chuckled too, "I'm hoping Haruka means spring flower and not distant." Haruka giggled and nodded, "There don't focus on the negatives. He's fine, I'm sure of it." Wes said more confidently.

"How can you be so sure?" Haruka was definitely skeptical.

"I can't, that's why we have faith." Wes's face became a bit more stoic. "This world is full of injustices and wrongdoing. We can't possibly stop it all. It's enough to want to give up. That's why I have faith. Even though it may seem pointless. I have faith that everything will turn out for the best."

"That's sweet, but a very naïve outlook if you ask me." Haruka wasn't as convinced.

"Maybe, but would you rather live in misery accepting he's gone and longing for him to come back to you, or would you rather have faith he'll return and let that inspire you to keep striving to do your best?" In a way it made sense. Wes saw no point in dwelling on what could happen. It made more sense to continue striving towards the ideal. No matter how impossible they seem.

Haruka paused for a moment. The waitress came by to take their orders and do refills. Haruka had succumb to her hungry and wasn't going to fight it anymore. After they ordered Haruka spoke up. "You're right. I know you are. Everyone's been telling me not to drive myself crazy about this, but I can't help it."

"Love makes us do crazy things, right?" Wes had her pegged.

She nodded and chuckled softly, "Yeah. Tell me Wes, is there a special woman in your life?" Haruka shifted the focus a bit.

Wes hesitated, "There are a few very _interesting_ women in my life. I don't have a girlfriend or anything like that." Yes, Wes had quite a few interesting women he had to deal with. Whether it was Ebony's constantly flirty demeanor, Zephyrine's abrasive personality, or Mei constantly trying to hunt him down. The irony that Haruka, his enemy, was the more level headed and kindhearted.

"It's hard to find love in Orre. So when you do, make sure you nurture and cherish it." Haruka smiled and thought of all the beautiful moments she's shared with Ryoko. "_He will come back to me_." She told herself.

Wes was more surprised by this than he felt like he should have been. Haruka was still just a normal woman at heart. She had desires, dreams, and someone she loved dearly. Wes so often forgot that when he thought of Cipher agents. The grunts who fight to control the region. They're people too. With their own lives, their own desires, their own stories. "He's a lucky guy."

The food arrived and much like her drink, Haruka went to town on it. Making sure she ordered plenty and then some. "Oh my god, I can't believe how stupid I was being. I haven't enjoyed food this much in my life."

The two laughed, "No kidding. You're going at it like it insulted your ancestors." Wes commented while he ate more moderately.

"Oh the second I get back I'm probably going to sleep for like eighteen hours." Haruka definitely needed it.

"Glad I could help." Haruka was seeming like her old self once more. Though that could be for better or worse in Wes's case.

Haruka, herself began to think about this too. Wes was a very nice guy, but he was helping the enemy. She was taking advantage of his kindness while knowing she could rat him out to Cipher in a heartbeat. Ein would praise her. Yet Haruka was at an impasse. "Wes, I haven't been completely honest with you." She said somberly.

"You know who I am." Wes said it outright. "You know I'm a rebel."

"So you know I'm a Cipher agent?" Haruka asked to clarify.

Wes nodded, "I know you're basically second-in-command of Cipher's R&amp;D."

She sighed, "Well this is awkward." She thought about what to say next. "I still hope we can be friends." She confessed.

All of a sudden, people begin teleporting in from all around. Men of all kinds with Houndoom. The quickly seize the door and block the exit. One runs right for the back to block all emergency exits. They took full advantage of the confusion and panic.

"What's going on?" Wes got up and had his hand on his Pokeball.

"Don't move kid." One of the men instructed as a Houndoom bore its fangs at him and another looked ready to strike Haruka.

One man walks in from the back. "Exits have been secured. We got the manager and wait staff. Chefs are tied up in the back."

Finally, one last man teleported in. A tall, menacing looking man dressed in leather. He looked around and began to speak, "Cover the windows." He instructed. He turned his attention to his very captive audience. "Good day everyone," he smirked sinisterly, "you're probably all wondering what is happening. Let me be the first to congratulate you. You get to bear witness to the first step in the Orre Region's liberation. We are here to free the region from the shackles of Cipher's reign." He spoke with such charisma and finesse.

"Then why are you holding us hostage?" One angry patron shouted. Houndoom snarled and snapped at him to keep him in line.

"One must break a few eggs in times of need. You will all be instrumental in aiding Cipher's downfall. You see, any good army needs soldiers. This may be a bit crass and forced, but trust me. You'll all come to see the beauty of our plan once you join us." The doors were sealed and the windows covered. "Now let the revolution begin."

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. We got to dive a bit deeper into Haruka's psychosis and have set up some pretty big events. The most notable thing about Orre in my mind was the real lack of locations and material to work with in Colosseum and XD. Plus, this kind of brings up a moral dilemma. Who is the lesser of the two evils? You're all be seeing more of these liberators going forward.


	31. Chapter 29: Grim Revolution

Chapter 29: Grim Revolution

One by one, hostages were being tied up and forced into line. Several customers were agents of Team Cipher. They attempted to fight back, but were very quickly overpowered and forced into submission. Haruka and Wes were smart enough to know not to try anything risky. Especially with Haruka in the condition she was. They had no choice, but to relinquish their Pokemon to these revolutionaries.

The leader spoke up once more. "I do so thank you all for being so cooperative." He said so mockingly. "It won't be much longer. In the meantime, I suppose you probably wish to know more about us. We are a group of elite trainers created to takedown Cipher. We're the Orre Liberation Group. I am their leader, Sinclair." He continued walking around the restaurant seeing potential recruits. He stopped when he saw two people in particular. "Well isn't this a sight to behold."

"Sinclair." Wes sneered.

"You know him?" Haruka asked.

"Wes, Takumi's rebel lap dog, and Haruka, Ein's little princess. What a surprise indeed. Tell me, why were you two here together? Conspiring? Oh I do love a good conspiracy. Case and point." He belittled them happily.

"Sinclair use to be in the rebellion, until Takumi kicked him out for being too radical. I think this plan right here was the straw that broke the Camerupt's back. I never thought you'd be sick enough to do it." Wes glared daggers at his former companion.

Sinclair frowned and with one swift motion, kicked Wes right in the stomach. He grunted and doubled over in pain. "Wes!" Haruka cried out.

"You are hardly one to talk Wes. When you joined the rebels I saw it. That cold, seething hatred. Takumi reigned you in. You're soft Wes. Where's the trainer I once saw potential in? The one who blew up the Eclo Canyon base and stole the snag machine? You never even used it!" Sinclair berated him. "Dozens died for nothing. You could have made that your sign of change. Burned a trail of destruction in the sand."

"Wes, that was you?" Haruka remembered that day. It was Snagem's old hideout. They since rebuilt it, but that went down as one of the biggest attacks against Cipher and Snagem. They never recovered the stolen device either.

Wes spoke through the pain, "It was the right choice. I couldn't live with myself. I still see their faces. It haunts me even now."

"Don't act so pure and righteous!" Sinclair was done with Wes. "Now Haruka, you can surely understand what's happening here. You will be our most valued asset. So be good, I wouldn't want to have to do anything to that pretty face." He laughed sinisterly.

"Lucky you, use me and Ein will give you the moon for my safe return." She glared back at Sinclair. Knowing his game. She knew exactly what he had up his sleeve.

"You are a bright one. I didn't plan on you being here naturally, but you'll make for a nice contingency plan." Sinclair gathered around his men and pulled out a radio. "Everything is ready. Is the convoy on its way? We have a lot of new recruits."

Wes whispered to Haruka, "We need a plan. If we can distract some of them and get to the Pokeballs then we have a fighting chance."

Haruka shook her head, "I don't know how helpful I'll be in a battle right now. The odds of getting the Pokeballs is unlikely to begin with." She hated admitting defeat, but any play would be simply too dangerous. "Can I ask about that Eclo Canyon bombing?" She looked at Wes accusingly.

"I wish you wouldn't. I am not proud of my action that day. I hate even thinking about it. Team Snagem or not, a lot of people were hurt or killed that day. That's why I do everything in my power to help others. To atone for what I did." Wes explains his logic and lowers his head.

Haruka shook her head and smiled, "You really are too honest."

"I don't think there's such a thing as _too _honest. Doesn't mean there aren't times when you would want to hide the truth to spare someone's feelings." Wes wasn't about to lie to Haruka about this though. "Well, I'm sure you hate me now." Wes rolled his eyes.

Haruka shook her head, "Wes, I'm not going to claim Cipher is righteous. That blow to Team Snagem had all of us worry. I'm just surprised it was you is all. I'm more worried about this current situation." She looked over at Sinclair was had his men keeping a close eye on their future _recruits_.

"I'm just afraid of what they plan to do with you." Wes knew Haruka was the most valuable person to them.

"I'm not, if they touch a hair on my head, I'm sure the admins will show no mercy. I'm a bargaining chip. You will probably be used to leverage your leader's surrender too. They may be extremists, but I'm sure Sinclair doesn't want to harm anyone. At least not the people he's trying to indoctrinate." Haruka seemed to have him pegged.

"Still, we have to do something, otherwise all these innocent people will be captured." Wes was less concerned with himself, and more for the innocent people.

Haruka paused, this never once occurred to her. She figured the situation would simply resolve itself and she'd be let go on the grounds of the liberators getting away without Cipher interfering. "Who cares?" She responded coldly.

Wes balled his fist, "I care!" He bore his teeth like fangs. "This is why I hate Cipher. You only care about yourselves. Who knows what Sinclair will do with these people. They aren't _things _you can toss aside. They're people! People with lives, families, loved ones. How do you think Ryoko would feel if you were captured like they will be? You could never see him again; I think you know a little something about that." Wes unleashed all his frustration.

"Hey quiet over there!" One of the liberators shouted at Wes.

Haruka stared blankly at Wes. Without thinking tears began falling down her face. "_You're right._" She clutched her chest. The pain was overwhelming. "They deserve as much chance to be free as we do."

Wes smiled, "Now you get it. I'm about to do something a little crazy here." Wes got up.

"What?" Before Haruka could ask, Wes took off.

"Stop him!" Sinclair shouted. Wes ran top speed to the counter. He was risking everything on this play. Still, something had to be done. He couldn't sit back quietly and watch everything unfolding around him. He took a running leap and tackled the cash register. Hurling himself over the counter and taking out the register. It crashed to the ground and money flew out everywhere.

He wasn't looking to rob the restaurant, but one thing became immediately apparent. Alarms went off all over the building. "Dammit, he triggered the alarm!"

Wes having landed on the cash register laughed and winced. "The police and Cipher will be all over this place in minutes."

Sinclair walked over and grabbed Wes by the collar, "You're lucky I have plans for you or I would torture you endlessly." He took Wes back over to the table with Haruka and tossed him onto the table. "Make sure that worm doesn't do anything else stupid. I would hate to have to kill him." Sinclair grabbed his radio. "Change of plans, the little, rebel bastard tripped the alarm. We're working with minutes now. We might have to cut our losses. We still got the Cipher girl so she can be a bargaining chip."

It was as Wes expected though. Very quickly authorities surrounded the building. Seeing it completely closed up, they assumed the worst. Panic was filling the streets as authorities kept crowds away from the crime scene.

"Boss, the cops are surrounding the building." One of his men informed him. A breach seemed imminent. The convoy better be getting there soon.

"Of all the- alright, we still have control of this situation. I'll handle negotiations." Sinclair said calmly.

Though, the local authorities are not the only ones who caught wind of this. The media was abuzz with activity. "This is the scene of an active hostage situation taking place right now in Gateon Port. The captives and their takers are still unknown at this point, but authorities are working to make sure everyone is safely evacuated."

Activity in Cipher was quick as well. Within minutes of news breaking they'd accessed the security cameras. "Someone contact Ein immediately!"

"This better be good news. It's chaos out there." Ein was very short with them.

"We've managed to get access to the security cameras, but you won't like this." They send a feed to Ein's office.

Ein pounds his desk at the sight of Haruka in captivity. "First she won't leave her room for a month, and now the one time she sneaks out she ends up in a hostage situation!" Ein was beyond livid. "Send every available agent to breach that restaurant and get Haruka." Ein demanded. Ein looked back at the screen and zoomed in. "_That rebel dog is there too?_"

"Every available agent?" One of the men asked.

"It's his orders we can't question it." They weren't about to question Ein's orders.

The message was sent out. Everyone in Cipher was alerted to the situation. Mei received the alert to much confusion. "Everyone? What's going on?" She was still in the dark as to what was happening.

It had become central command. Ein came in and immediately took charge of the situation. Nothing was going to stop him, or so he thought. Another call came through, "Oh Ein, it seems to me that your pants are in quite a twist." Miror B. chuckled. "You couldn't possibly need _all _of my precious boys and girls for one hostage situation."

"Haruka's in there B. I don't care what you say. We're getting her out of there." Ein was not exactly thinking rationally at this point.

"Now I see why you'd want to ensure our little Haruka's safety. Especially with all that is going on. However, I do not see the need for this tactical nuke of a plan." Miror B. was the surprisingly level headed one in this situation.

"Then what do you suggest?" Ein narrowed his glance, training his sights on B.

"I say we get into contact with those nasty hostage takers and see what their petty, little demands are. I'm sure they want something in return for our precious Haruka." Miror B. had a feeling it was pretty obvious.

"Very well, we'll call them. If they do not comply then we're taking no prisoners." Ein put himself in contact with the hostage takers.

Sinclair awaited a phone call, but their convoy more than anything. He answered smugly, "Hello, how may I help you today."

"You know what I want, bastard." Ein sneered, "What have you done with Haruka?"

"My, my. Don't worry. We haven't touched a hair on her head. You can have her back if you meet our simple demands."

"What are your terms?" Ein was playing along for now.

"Simple. Let my men, our _new recruits_, and myself walk away. Then you can have Haruka back in the same condition she was in." Sinclair promised.

"Who are you people and what do you want with those citizens?" Ein figured if he could keep Sinclair distract someone might act. It was a total shot in the dark, but it couldn't hurt.

"We're the Orre Liberation Group. Our mission, take down Team Cipher once and for all. Think of us like the rebellion. Minus those spineless cowards. Speaking of, we have one of Takumi's lapdogs with us here today. He seemed pretty chummy with your agent. Maybe you should have kept her on a tighter leash." Sinclair laughed.

"Wes. How about this, I'll let you walk out completely unmolested, but I want the rebel too in exchange. Fair compromise?" Ein couldn't care less about the citizens and Cipher's other agents for that matter.

"Really? Just two people. You are heartless as everyone says. Well, we get what we really wanted in the end. So that seems like a fair trade. The rebel's useless anyway." Sinclair didn't mind this trade at all. He's also not surprised Ein threw away the lives of so many citizens and agents for Haruka's safety.

Wes coughed and laughed, "Useless huh? As I recall I was a pretty good pick pocket way back when." He smiled victoriously as he held up a Pokeball. "I knew you'd take special care of Haruka and my Pokemon. It's a crap shoot, but here goes nothing." Wes tossed the Pokeball.

Out came a Sharpedo. It wasn't Wes's so it had to be Haruka's. "Sharpedo use Waterfall!" Haruka reacted quickly. Sharpedo growled as a Waterfall surrounded several of the Houndoom and washed them aside. "Hydro Pump!" A huge burst of water released from its maw, wiping out more Houndoom.

Several of the Houndoom flanked Sharpedo and went for a series of Crunch attacks. "Stop her!" Sinclair yelled while he could hear Ein laughing his head off on the other line.

"Even completely sleep deprived my agent can make a mockery of your entire group. This was why I agreed to your terms, because I am not even for a second afraid of you people." Ein mocked him happily.

"Protect!" Sharpedo's superior speed was coming in handy. Speed Boost was only making it faster by the second. "Now another Waterfall." Haruka was really feeling reinvigorated. "I'll keep them distracted, see if you can get the other Pokeballs back." She instructed Wes.

"Got it. I've got a bit of a score to settle." Wes hopped up off the table and ran for Sinclair. "Sinclair!" With a surprising maneuver Wes threw himself and all his weight at Sinclair, knock them both to the ground. The Pokeballs scattering everywhere. Wes quickly retrieved them.

"Boy." Wes heard Ein's voice. He picked it up, "Don't tell anyone you heard this, but thank you for protecting Haruka. That said, this in no way changes how I feel about you or Takahata's little farce."

Wes rolled his eyes, "I did it because it's the right thing to do and because Haruka needed help. Next time she gets upset try think of her feelings. If you actually know what empathy is." He hung up.

"You smarmy, little bastard." Sinclair was furious. All hell was breaking loose around him. It was time to cut their losses. "Dammit! Men, fallback. Grab as many people as you can and get out of here." He looked down at Wes, "Next time." He called out an Abra and teleported away.

"No!" Wes ran to a group of hostages, but in a flash they were gone with the liberators. They grabbed a couple dozen people. A much smaller loss, but still a huge loss nonetheless to him. Wes dropped to his knees and punched the floor. "I couldn't stop them." He placed the blame solely on himself.

Haruka walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder sympathetically. "It's not your fault, we did all we could. This is still better than the alternative."

Wes nodded, "I'll save them one way or another." Wes swore.

"You should get out of here. Cipher's probably going to storm in any minute now." Haruka called out her own Abra. "Thank you, Wes." She smiled as she had Abra teleport him away. Not long after, several Cipher agents and Ein came through.

"Haruka are you alright?" Ein attended to her first and foremost.

She nodded, "Yeah, a little shuck up. I'm going to head back to the base and get some sleep."

Ein was relieved to hear her say that. There was one other thing he needed to know, "Where's that rebel?"

Haruka shrugged, "I don't know? He got away in all the chaos. I was busy fighting off liberators when he escaped." She lied through her teeth, but didn't even bat an eye. She wasn't exactly proud of it, but she had learned to master the art of lying.

Ein nodded, "I understand. You did very well. Get some rest."

Haruka smiled and teleported out. She felt a new sense of rejuvenation. Despite all that she'd had to deal with. Haruka was starting to feel like her old self. She still missed and worried about Ryoko horribly, but she was coping. She knows he'll return to her. Haruka took something else important out of the day's events. As unconventional and wrong as it may seem, Wes had proven to be a true friend. A true friend who taught her a thing or two about empathy. Hopeful, someday, that may mean something. Unfortunately, until then they are enemies.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. A bit of a hollow victory all around. The liberators's plans fell through a bit, but they still escaped. Wes got away before either group could grab him, but he couldn't save everyone. For as out numbered as it seemed for the liberators, they still won something out of all of this. Expect to see more as the power struggle continues to unfold.


	32. Chapter 30: A Lustrous Gym Badge

Chapter 30: A Lustrous Gym Badge

After a long journey Ryo and Rosa had made it to Pewter City and rested for the night. Ryo, out of pure instinct and a lot time of reinforcement, found himself up before the sun. It was nothing new for him, but Rosa was still fast asleep as way the rest of the city's stores and restaurants.

Ryo still had trouble falling asleep. Riddled with insecurities, doubts, and longing. What he wouldn't give to lie beside Haruka once more. He truly knew what it meant to be lovesick. He was thankfully holding up better than Haruka had been. If he knew how she had taken all of this he wouldn't be able to sleep at all. These combined with the fact his new travelling companion snored like a chain saw.

He took pity on any man who would lie beside her. Lying in a free fall position with arms and legs spread every which way. Sheets half on, half off. Without her hair ties Rosa's hair basically blanketed her whole back. She was far from the pinnacle of feminine grace like this.

Ryo got up quietly and went to shower. He needed it after all the travelling. He hadn't walked that much in quite a long time. When they arrived at the center, the two got a room and crashed on the beds. Rosa herself essentially slept as she'd landed on the bed. He hoped the shower wouldn't wake her, but she was far from a light sleeper Ryo figured. If she could sleep in such an awkward position she probably could sleep through an earthquake. Her snoring could very well drown it out.

Her reemerged and Rosa was still sleeping. Ryo didn't think much of it. He walked over and grabbed a fresh change of clothes and slowly began to dress. In that moment Rosa opened her eyes and slowly got up. Looking right over at Ryo. "I must have slept through the whole day. It appears the full moon is out." She snickered.

Ryo quickly covered himself and turned the deepest red he's ever been. "You didn't see that." He was mortified that she saw him like that.

She chuckled, "Saw what?" She responded with a wink. She climbed out of bed. "I shall use the facilities too." She walked into the bathroom without a word.

Ryo sighed, "_Well that was embarrassing. God I'm an idiot._" He was going to make sure Haruka never hears about this incident. Ryo finished getting dressed and started going through his things. He stopped to read a magazine he'd picked up along the way and stopped every now and then to check the time. Methodically, another part of his Cipher mentality. Everything was scheduled. He got so bored that Ryo went back to his old routines and starting doing pushups to pass the time.

Rosa stepped out, "One usually showers after a workout. Though it is not my place to say. You shall do whatever you desire." Rosa was only in a towel.

Ryo stopped and got up. "I'm ridiculously bored right now." He confessed. Sitting down and averting his gaze. "I'm not looking, I promise."

Rosa shrugged, "It is not as if I cared whether you did or not. Growing up when I was in Plasma compounds public showers were the only facilities I had access too."

"Well yeah, Cipher's the same way for non-elite agents. Still it's split up by gender." Ryo knew where she was coming from. "It's still common courtesy."

"How chivalrous of you." She appreciated it. "There, I'm decent."

Ryo slowly turned his head back to see Rosa doing her hair. "Good, but it's still way too early for anything to be open. Especially the gym." He pulled a device from his bag and started towards the TV. This Pokemon Center was thankfully equipped with a TV in each room. He took the device and started messing with the wiring.

"What is that?" Rosa asked.

Ryo flipped on the TV. "This magic box makes pictures and sounds." He smirked.

"I know what a television is, you arse! I use modern technology too. Tis not as if I am from the stone ages. I meant that bizarre device thou attached to the television." Rosa was insulted and thought he took her for some fool.

"It's a TV tuner developed by Cipher. We use them on field missions to tap into private Cipher channels and general Cipher broadcasts. The ONBS doesn't broadcast outside of Orre." The ONBS being the Orre News Broadcasting Stations.

He piped into the morning news in Orre. "More on yesterday's tragic hostage situation in Gateon Port."

"Wait! What?" Ryo exclaimed and watched intently.

"A rogue uprising known as the Orre Liberation Group struck at a small restaurant yesterday afternoon. Our sources claim that the liberators were attempting to kidnap the hostages and use them as soldiers in their uprising against Team Cipher."

"Orre Liberation Group. What the hell?" Ryo was gone for a while and hadn't had regular access to television so he was more than a little shocked by this development.

"Fiends. Used the good name of liberators to force people to their way of thinking." Rosa knew a thing or two about this herself. "Tis atrocious."

"We have acquired footage of the events unfolding." The feed cuts to the security camera as the liberators teleported in.

"No." Ryo looked in horror as Haruka was caught up in all of this. "Haruka!" He panicked. He had no idea if she was alright or not. He paid no mind to Wes sitting right across from her.

"This is all rather angsome, but I am quite sure she is fine." She pointed to the TV once more. Highlights show Wes's daring plan as well as more than a few shots of Sinclair's face. "To think, those whom swear to free the region are as oreless as Orre itself."

Ryo just looked over at her, "Okay seriously, do you come with subtitles?"

She glowered. "I do not criticize thy lifestyle choices. I kindly ask thou not question mine."

Ryo rolled his eyes, "Sorry, anyway. It looks like she's fine. _Thank god_." That was a huge relief. "Let's get something to eat. I'm hopefully there's something open by now." Ryo got up and unattached the tuner. Making sure to not leave any evidence behind. Mika taught Ryo a thing or two about disappearing without a trace. Rosa was pretty methodical about her packing too.

"Shalt we depart?" She asked after packing up.

"Yeah," Ryo looked over the room, "like we were never here."

"Tis common practice for me. I lead a nomadic lifestyle. In my ever present search for my king, I've become a bit of a recluse. So everything of worldly possession is in my rucksack." She patted her bag for emphasis.

"I guess I can say the same now." Ryo really felt the gravity of his situation. He was truly alone. He had Rosa, but she was nothing more than a temporary companion. It wasn't like she was helping him. They just happening to be going to the same places.

"Worry not, soon enough thou shalt be with thy betrothed once more." She stepped out into the hall with Ryo and headed downstairs.

"We're not engaged or anything like that." Ryo was quick to correct Rosa.

"She is the one thou cherish most, is she not? Why would thou not wish to espouse the woman thou love?" Made sense to Rosa. Would make sense to anyone.

"It's more complicated than that. One, we're kind of on two sides of a cause here. Two, I want to have it be special. Orre is not exactly where I imagine starting a life with Haruka anymore. Finally, I know one admin who would be completely against it." Ryo explained.

Rosa's eyes lit up and she grinned from ear-to-ear. "Two star crossed lovers whom must battle against the odds of a world that seeks to keep them apart." Rosa had a bit more romanticized take of Ryo's plight. "Thou art like the Romeo and Juliet." She swooned.

Ryo pinched the bridge of his nose. "They died in the end. I don't want that." He walked out into the streets of Pewter City. "I bet that was a new release when you were younger." He smirked with a sideways glance.

"Silence thyself." Was Rosa's way of telling Ryo to shut up.

Ryo smirked. After a bit of searching the two found a diner that was open. It didn't take them very long to eat. Ryo himself had a balanced diet. He wished he could break himself of his old Cipher ways, but it was ingrained in his brain. While Rosa practically inhaled her food. Ryo had to wonder if she even so much as tasted it. Either way, he figured the faster the better.

The two next went to the Pewter City gym. It looked open finally. Ryo wondered if there were already eager, young trainers ready to battle for their first gym badge. This wouldn't be Ryo's first gym battle though. Having the Rainbow and Volcano Badge already. Except those were when he was pretending to be a trainer. So his current trainer ID didn't have those two registered as previously obtained. So Ryo was stuck starting all over again. Maybe Blaine would be kind enough to give him a pass?

They walked into the gym and looked around. "Hello?" Ryo called out.

"We wish to inquire about thy facility." Rosa called out.

"Maybe I should do the talking." He suggested while Rosa pouted.

A young man walked out through the rocky terrain of the gym. "Hi there, sorry I wasn't expecting anyone so early. My name's Brock. I'm the Pewter City gym leader."

"Nice to meet you. Name's Ryo. This is Rosa." Ryo shook his hand.

"Why hello there." Brock said suavely as he approached Rosa.

"Greetings, I wished to inquire about the whereabouts of my king." Rosa responded without hesitation or showing any concern for Brock's advances.

"Your king?" Brock was now thoroughly confused.

"Yes, I beseech you. Any information about my King, Lord N would be of the utmost appreciation." Rosa further pleaded.

Brock looked over at Ryo. "Is she alright?"

"I wonder that myself. She's looking for a guy named N. Ever met someone like that? Green hair, a name that really stands out?" Ryo simplified it for Brock.

Brock shrugged, "I haven't met anyone by that name before."

"Curses, my inquiries were nary helpful. Let us make haste Ryo. No reason to tarry here." She headed for the door.

"Hold on, we're here, because I wanted a gym battle. Not to look for N." Ryo wasn't about to leave without battling Brock. That was the real reason they were there.

Rosa thought for a moment, "This is correct. I got ahead of thyself. Tarry onward."

"Seriously, is she okay?" Brock couldn't understand half the things she was saying. She truly seemed misplaced in time.

"She hasn't snapped yet. Anyway, like I said, I'm interested in a gym battle." Ryo held up a Pokeball.

"Perfect, the arena's all set up, just follow me." Brock led Ryo into the center arena of the gym. It was covered in rocks and stones of all sizes. "Come on out Geodude." A Geodude floated in from behind the rocks. Brock preferred letting his Pokemon roam around the gym. Brock figured letting them freely move around was better than just keeping them in their Pokeballs all day long.

"Alright, go Charmander." Ryo led in with his own starter. He hadn't caught anything else yet, so Charmander was his only option. Not that he was going to let that deter him. "Let's get this started with a Scratch attack."

Charmander ran towards Geodude with his glowing claws. Brock smirked, "Defense Curl, Geodude." Geodude braced himself for the attack and easily brushed it off. "Now use Tackle." Geodude was quick to slam back at Charmander.

Rosa couldn't help feel this was all a bit pointless. She wasn't a trainer; in her mind she was a loyal knight to her king. It was a title N bestowed upon her. So things like gym battles seemed like a superfluous way to get stronger. Gym leaders were strong trainers. Brock was proving that, but a gym badge just seemed like an arbitrary reward.

Brock wasn't letting up though. Ryo was fighting hard, but there was something different about this battle. Having the clear disadvantage was one thing, but that wasn't it.

Charmander eventually wore down Geodude and Brock was forced to call out his next Pokemon. An Onix emerged next and Ryo started to sweat. "That's going to be a bit harder to take down." Not that he hasn't gone up against tougher odds, but this was definitely going to be a tougher fight than he'd originally anticipated.

Onix's mighty swung violently. Charmander was thankfully quick on his feet. It was still bizarre. Ryo felt hesitation again. Why? He had no trouble instructing Charmander in battle, but he felt like somehow everything he was doing was met with anxiety. He wanted to battle, but he felt like there was something wrong with how he was battling. Like he was being too lax, or too careful. There was an obvious difference between careful and too careful. This was almost overly protective.

Ryo had Charmander keeping a good distance and only striking when he felt the time was right. A solid strategy, but it halted the flow of battle and wasn't his style at all. It was like he didn't want to see Charmander get hurt. So he avoided the risky plays that would garner the most damage output.

Rosa saw this too, but she wasn't about to say anything. Brock noticed it as well. "Come on, don't be afraid to take some risks every now and then. Charmander is pretty resilient." A friendly bit of encouragement. Brock dealt with new trainers all the time, but he could tell Ryo wasn't a new trainer. Ryo was conflicted so Brock figured a push in the right direction would help.

It did surprisingly. Ryo knew what Brock was saying. He was used to making risky plays and doing things others may question. He couldn't hesitate. Charmander would listen to everything Ryo had to say, so he knew Charmander would trust him. "Alright Charmander jump on Onix's back and run up to the head." Charmander did just that, but Onix wasn't about to take that lying down. It shook and scrambled to get Charmander off of it. To little avail. Charmander lunged forward and latched on Onix's horn. "Ember!" Ryo called out. Charmander heard loud and clear and blasted flames at the top of Onix's head until he finally relented and collapsed.

Brock smiled, "You did great Onix." He called back his Pokemon. "Well you definitely showed you know a thing or two about battling."

Ryo smiled, "Thanks, but I was very hesitant for a while there."

"There's nothing wrong with being cautious, but I could tell it wasn't your style." Brock knew as well as Ryo did.

"Yeah, you're right. I was a bit worried about pushing Charmander too hard." Ryo explained his reasons.

"I get that, it's good that you look out for that, but trust me I would have stopped the match it got that bad. Just don't be afraid to listen to your gut instincts." Brock gave him some very solid advice. The two shook hands and Ryo received his gym badge. The two departed.

As they stepped outside Rosa put in her two cents. "Whilst he was correct in his assessment. I know thou art worried about becoming what thou once were. It is advantageous to remember that, but doth seems to worry a bit too much about it."

"Could you not be so cryptic?" Ryo rolled his eyes.

Rosa sighed, "I'm saying you're not that guy anyone. Don't think you're just going to turn back into him." She spoke surprisingly normal.

"Hold on, did you just speak normal?" Ryo asked.

"I know not what thou are speaking of. Let us make haste. Hencefore we shalt redouble our efforts in finding my king." She ran onward with Ryo close behind. Running onward to the next leg of their adventure.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Not a whole lot to talk about with this chapter, but we learn a little bit more about Rosa in the process. I'm so used to calling her Mei because of Pokemon Black 2 and White 2's Japanese names. When I originally created Mei in SD original draft I wasn't planning on having Rosa become a character. So I am thankfully breaking that habit.


	33. Chapter 31: Born in the Darkness

Chapter 31: Born in the Dark

Not even a week had passed yet Haruka once more found herself in Gateon Port. Though she was there for entirely difference reasons. Her health and mental wellbeing had improved now that she was taking care of herself again. She was worried about Ryoko, but she didn't let it control her the way it once did.

She wasn't alone either. She was with Ein. They waited patiently as agents filled up a ship full of supplies and research material. With Haruka's health all clear she was greenlit to be Ein's right hand in the Shadow Mewtwo project. A title she would wear with honor.

"Ein, I have to ask. Why don't we just teleport to Citadark Isle?" Haruka was perplexed at this. Sure, she'd never been there, but Ein had taken several trips to Citadark so he could easily teleport back and forth.

Ein simply shook his head, "Impossible, Citadark Isle is monitored twenty-four hours a day by a large team of Mr. Mime who keep up a Barrier around the entire island. Hundreds of Barrier attacks are used to keep anything from getting in or out that isn't permitted by Cipher. Including agents using Teleport." Security was far from lax on Citadark. As it shouldn't be.

Citadark Isle was from the very beginning the base of Team Cipher. Greevil created a base on Citadark to experiment in peace, but soon his ambitions grew and he needed more dedicated minds to aid him. Before long he and his team created a near unstoppable force in Orre. Grasping full control with intelligence, charisma, strength, influence, and fear. They didn't just get lucky. Every step was just as calculated and planned out as the last.

"How is the process going so far by the way?" Haruka read through a folder containing some of the details of the project. Nothing she didn't already know. Documents like these couldn't be too detailed or the risk of them falling into the wrong hands would be much worse.

"The subject is still in an early embryotic state. We're learned a lot from the information gathered by Mika." Ein deliberately avoids mentioning a certain other agent. "Team Rocket's first attempt was a success, but end in disaster." Ein further explained.

"Disaster?" There was a lot more to it than Haruka knew.

Ein nodded, "Yes, as it would seem the project was being conducted in a base off the coast of Cinnabar Island. After Blaine took over the program it was smooth sailing, but the experiment grew frightened and hostile. Eventually it couldn't even control its power. Mewtwo's power is so immense that nothing they could develop could suppress it fast enough. Before long Mewtwo grew enraged and destroyed the entire lab. No one survived. It's a miracle Blaine had managed to gain control of it at all." Ein and his team were going to make sure they had counter measures in place. Just in case the worst happened.

"Not sure how I feel about that." Haruka wasn't as confident in this plan as she once was.

"Don't worry, we're doing everything we can to ensure history doesn't repeat itself." Ein reassures Haruka of this. The last thing he wanted was for anything to happen to her. They finished loading up supplies and got aboard the ship.

Back in Phenac, Mei was back to her usual training routines. Ever since her recovery Mei had been devoting more time to getting stronger. She headed into the simulation room like she did most days. "Well, look who's right on time as usual." Aiden joked.

"Hey Aiden, I was thinking of running sim number twenty again today. See if I can beat my old record." Mei had her routine down to a science. She knew what areas to focus on so she could best improve her skills.

"Now hold on, we've got some new sims set up you might want to check out. Updated the database this morning. I think you might find some of them pretty interesting." He pulled up a list of all the new data battles.

Mei's eyes widened. "You got Mewtwo's data on the sim?"

"Oh yeah, so now agents can test their skills against this beast of a Pokemon. Though, statistically this thing is almost unbeatable." He warned Mei.

"Load it up. I want to battle this thing." Mei cracked her knuckles and walked over to the simulator.

"Alright, don't say I didn't warn you though." Aiden loaded up the data and ran the simulation. The virtual colosseum loaded up and Mewtwo stood at one end staring Mei down.

She smiled, "It's looking good so far Aiden." She pulled out her Pokeball. "Go Slowking." Mei starts out strong with her Slowking. In the simulation data is collected on the trainer's current Pokemon and essentially makes a digital copy of the Pokemon. This digital copy then battles in the sim. Which is why Trainers can also have simulation teams to work out the best strategies and experiment with other possible Pokemon. Cipher had spent years and counts amounts of money perfecting the technology.

"Alright Slowking, let's start with a Trick Room." Mei was confident. Removing Mewtwo's speed advantage was a key point in her plan. Mewtwo glared and charged at Slowking and attacked with a Psystrike. Instantly, Slowking was blasted away. Instant knock out. Mei stood paralyzed. Her mind could barely comprehend what she just saw. She stood catatonic as she replayed the spilt second in her mind. With a single strike, at incredible speed Mewtwo decimated Slowking. She swallowed hard. "Run it again." She said coldly.

Mewtwo reset at her command. She thought of a new strategy. "Slaking use Hyper Beam." Mei pulled out all the stops. Slaking fired off a burst of intense energy right at Mewtwo. Mewtwo stood nonplussed, as if the simulation was mocking her. With a single Aura Sphere the attack ripped through the Hyper Beam and blew Slaking away.

Mei collapsed to her knees. This power was beyond her comprehension. Her entire life she'd been training to be the best Cipher agent. Now she stood against what could only be described as an unstoppable opponent. Her blood ran cold. "Run it again."

"Mei, maybe you should-" Aiden began to protest.

"Run it again!" She demanded. Rising to her feet Mei stared down her toughed opponent yet. She wasn't going to give up so easily.

Back on Citadark Island, Haruka and Ein were escorted in a special closed off facility. Men piled in dropping off supplies precisely as Ein instructed. "This is where the experiment is being conducted." He flipped on a switch and illuminated a large, glass, cylindrical container with a small specimen inside connected by a tube.

Haruka looked a bit on nerved at first. "So this is Mewtwo?"

Ein nodded, "Yes, this is the fetal Mewtwo its attached by a special tube and immersed in a special fluid that-"

Haruka stopped him there, "I know how it works Ein. I'm just not used to see all this outside the womb." Rubbed her stomach and covered her month as she fought back gaging.

Ein cleared his through, "Right, of course. Must be unsettling for a woman at first glance."

"I just need a minute." Haruka took a few deep breaths as she observed it. No matter how much she expected this, it still wasn't enough to fully prepare for seeing this. "Okay, so where do we begin?"

"To begin, I have to ask. Haruka, do you know where Shadow Pokemon originated?" Ein asked as everyone left the room. He locked the door to make sure no one was listening.

"They were created by us right?" Haruka figured that was pretty self-explanatory. She's helped develop Shadow Pokemon technology for years.

"Yes, but there is more to it than that. With Shadow Pokemon there is a sort of Mitochondrial Eve. A point where it all began. Shadow Pokemon were born from that event." Ein pushed up the bridge of his glasses as he walked through the lab. "The first Shadow Pokemon was not a produce of Cipher. For that matter it doesn't exist in the form we know of today."

"I'm confused, so Shadow Pokemon are the byproduct of some sort of mutation? That doesn't make sense." Haruka was trying to understand.

"Millennia ago there is a legend that a Pokemon dared to challenge the might of a legendary Pokemon. The legendary Pokemon, the embodiment of darkness. The Pitch-Black Pokemon, Darkrai. The Pokemon that challenged it." Ein pulled back a sheet revealed another contained Pokemon.

Haruka gasped, it was a Mightyena, but it looked heinous and feral. Even in a suspended slumber. "What happened to it?"

"It fought Darkrai, but as a result Darkrai chose to curse it and taint it with darkness. Over the centuries it traveled the world until coming to Orre. No one's sure how. One day, ancient tribes of Orre discovered this Pokemon. Claiming it casted an evil shadow. Hence the name we've taken on. A little more than twenty years ago Master Greevil discovered this Pokemon and captured it. Since then we've been using it as an experiment. Extracting darkness from its being and trying to recreate it. Which is exactly what we will do with Mewtwo." Ein explained as he flipped a switch.

The Mightyena grew agitated in its sleep. Wiring and tubes hooked up to it start extracting a black liquid. It's tainted blood. It fed out of Mightyena in small quantities and flowed into Mewtwo's artificial umbilical cord. Filling the fetal Pokemon with tainted blood. "Every other time we've tried this the fetus did not survive. Mewtwo should be more than strong enough to accept the darkness and bond with it." Ein smiled calmly, as if this were normal. "Your boyfriend was so naïve to think that I'd not tried this before. I of course had to put up the act." He turned back to Haruka. "Haruka, what I told you today must never leave this room." He cautioned.

"I understand; I just need to clear my head." Haruka was feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"Very well, step out if you must." Ein allowed her to take some time to process all of this.

Haruka walked out and casually made her way to the bathroom. She took several deep breaths and splashed some water on her face. Then dove for a toilet. She sighed and heaved as she flushed the sick. She knelt against the toilet for a few minutes before clumsily getting to her feet. Haruka groaned, "_This is so fucked up._" Haruka collected herself and headed back in. Still, just thinking about it made her skin crawl.

She walked back in where Ein was already hard at work. "Haruka, listen if you don't want to do this I can assign someone else to the job."

She put up a hand in protest, "No, it's fine. I can do this. If anything, Ryoko is the one who got us this far. I want to be a part of what he started."

Ein nodded, "I still don't know what happened to him. Despite that, he has done a great thing for Cipher. He's an excellent agent."

"He hasn't gone traitor." Haruka reassured Ein of that.

"I want to believe you. Truly I do." The two got to work. Running tests, checking vitals, and giving Mewtwo test dosages of the shadow DNA. The goal was to slowly inject blood that will mingle in Mewtwo's developing body and form more blood that will replace what is currently there. Then the more complicated gene splicing and tampering with its DNA. Thankfully, Blaine basically left them a road map to follow with Mewtwo's data.

"Run it again!" Mei shouted at Aiden.

"Mei that's the twenty time, take a break." He was tired of her constantly rerunning the simulation.

"Run. It. Again." She protested.

Aiden sighed, "Alright. Fine Sisyphus." At this point Aiden figured trying to roll a rock up a hill would be a more productive use of her time. Not thirty second later it was over.

"Damnit. Damnit. Damnit!" Mei shouted. "I can't even touch the thing!"

Aiden shook his head, "Mei this is a _legendary_ Pokemon. It's not going to be easy to battle. It's on an entirely different level."

She took off the helmet, "You don't think I know that! I'm doing everything I can to be one of Cipher's elites. I will not let a single program stand in my way. I need to train. Run it again." She sneered.

"No, you're done. I'm cutting you off for the day." Aiden stood firm.

"What the hell do you mean, _cutting me off_?" She glared.

"I mean, no more sims for you, for the rest of the day. You're getting pissed off which is making you sloppy. You can't think straight in a battle if you can't control your emotions Mei." Aiden actually had a very sound reasoning behind this. He was looking out for her. She need to calm down.

Mei looked stunned. She balled her fist and looked down at the ground, "You're right. I need to calm down. I'm coming back tomorrow though." She promised him that. Not that Aiden wasn't expecting that already.

"She'll be all warmed up for you." He smirked and saw her off.

Elsewhere, another trainer was practicing as per usual. Wes found more wild Pokemon to train his team with. Ever sense the incident with the Orre Liberation Group he'd been a bit on edge.

He heard a yawn, "God I thought when I joined you guys we'd be doing a bit more than sitting on our asses all day." Zephyrine had so far not been impressed. The sixteen-year-old with the mouth and crazy eyes very quickly made herself at home and did nothing but complain since. "Seriously, at least if I was still in the Deep Colosseum, Cipher would have me doing crap."

Wes groaned, "We have to wait and see what will happen. We can't just jump into action." He walked back into the rundown headquarters.

"Your buddy Sinclair's been pretty proactive." She reminded him.

"I'm kind of with Zeph here, we got nip this OLG problem in the butt while we can." Cary chimed in.

"They are right Wes. We need not tread so lightly. I have been talking with Takumi about a plan of attack." Ebony gave her own two cents. "The bottom line is that this problem won't just go away. Yes, it is very possible Cipher could snuff them out, but it would be more beneficial if the rebellion took the initiative."

"And how would we do that? We don't know their numbers, plus Cipher could step in at any time. Haruka and Mei now both know who I am." Those were pretty large targets on his back. Though Wes kept it to himself about his somewhat friendship with Haruka. So odds are she wouldn't stab him in the back so quickly.

"Yeah, that's why we gotta do something quick. Instead of waitin for Cipher to come beaten down our door we should act while we can. We could get more recruits if we show we mean business." Cary brought up a good point. There were many who probably thought the rebellion just faded away.

The conversation ceased when Takumi cleared his throat. "Listen up, I have a plan. There is a small town to the south. It's occupied by Cipher, but I think if we plan this out, we can free them from Cipher's grips."

Ebony gave a sultry grin, "Go on."

"It's a small town called Aragite Town. Population of about one hundred and it's occupied largely by Team Cipher." Takumi explained.

"So what're ya suggestin a siege?" Cary was skeptical about this plan.

"Hell yeah, let's go in and bust some head." Zephyrine cracked her knuckles.

"We still have to be smart about it. We wouldn't want to just come busting down their door." Takumi did have a plan of attack in mind.

"Can we do it?" Wes had his doubts.

"You're way too cautious." Zephyrine rolled her eyes.

"I'm with Zeph on this one. Come on man, ya used to be a badass, but you've gotten soft on us." Wes had told Cary what Sinclair said to him. He in a way agreed. "I ain't sayin we go around blowin up buildings, but come on. Raise a little hell. Yer a better trainer than you give yourself credit for."

Ebony smiled at Cary's remark, "I agree. Wes, dear, you are much better than you give yourself credit for." She walked up to him and gently caressed his cheek, "I want to see you go wild at least once more." She licked her lips.

Wes stammered and looked away. "If you all really feel that way. I just don't want to hurt anyone else."

"You have more control than that. You and Sinclair are nothing alike." Takumi assured him.

Wes sighed and walked off. Everyone awaited a response from Wes. He walked to one of the numerous storage crates and scrounged through it. "Talking to Sinclair reminded me of this." He pulled out a metal briefcase. The others smiled.

"What's the case?" Zephyrine was naturally clueless.

"Something we shoulda been using for a long time now." Cary said as Wes opened the case.

"A Model 1 Pokemon Snag Machine. Developed by Team Cipher for the purposes of snagging Pokemon from unsuspecting trainers. It's a tool that should only be used by someone with a great responsibility not to abuse it." Takumi informed her. "We've had this in our possession for quite some time. Are you finally ready to use it Wes?"

Wes silently dawned the Snag Machine on his right arm and fitted it properly. He looked down at the machine and nodded. "Let's take back Aragite Town."

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Events are really starting to build up now, I look forward to showing off Wes finally being the badass he is. I also wanted to convey a much darker tone this chapter. Especially with Haruka and the Mewtwo project. As well as give backstory to how Shadow Pokemon came to be.


	34. Chapter 32: Light in the Dark

Chapter 32: Light in the Dark

After much preparation and carefully thought out planning. The day had finally come. All the key players had their place. Takumi made one thing certain. Stick to the plan and everything would go fine. The rebelling needed to act in a big way. They had a goal and they could not fail. It was risky nonetheless, but they were smart and most importantly; they had the element of surprise. Cipher outnumbered them ten-to-one at least, but that didn't mean all hope was lost.

Days before, Takumi spoke to his fellow rebel subordinates. "We've been discussing this for a while. The tactical advantages of taking Aragite Town are our best bet right now. Far enough south of major cities that we'd see unified assaults coming from a mile away at least. It's a small town too, so it's a lower priority to Cipher than say Pyrite. Which also means less men fortifying it." Takumi had managed to consider everything.

"This town is also very exposed on all sides." Ebony pointed to the map they had laid out. "We can very easily attack from all angles. No mountains impeding our movement, no canyons forming natural protection. Just open desert as far as the eye can see. Penetration will be easy." She grinned and pointed to several focal points on the map. "First we strike hard and fast. I trust Zephyrine isn't afraid of a full frontal assault?" Ebony winked.

"Full frontal's my middle name." Zephyrine cracked her knuckles. Wes tried his best to ignore that comment while Cary snickered.

* * *

She was in place, Zephyrine sat poised behind some rocks while awaiting her orders. She pushed her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose and got the call. She smiled, getting a rush as the operation was about to commence. "Let's rain hell. Go Hydreigon! Go Mandibuzz!" She called out her Pokemon and hopped on Hydreigon's back.

From the town Cipher grunts saw her coming in hot. "What the?" Men with their Pokemon on patrol looked up to the sky.

"Fire Blast! Brave Bird!" True to her word Zephyrine was making it rain hell on the grunts. Hydreigon's Fire Blast leveled the unsuspecting front lines. While Mandibuzz broke the line taking out Pokemon with Brave Bird.

* * *

"While Zephyrine distracts the front lines we'll need to ambush them from the sides. We were thinking a Pinsir Maneuver. That's where you two come in." Takumi looked to Wes and Cary.

"While Zeph's hit their front, we'll strike'em from the sides?" Cary got the idea.

* * *

Everyone thing was going smooth on Zephyrine's front. It was time for Cary and Wes to strike. "Espeon, Umbreon let's go." Wes rode in on his motorcycle. Not stopping for the guards, they were smart enough to know Wes wasn't bluffing.

While Wes prefer striking quick and fast. Cary opted for a more fortified approach. "Rock Slide Gigalith." Cary's lumbering Pokemon didn't favor speed, but definitely didn't disappoint in terms of raw power. Gigalith's attack easily buried several more Pokemon before anyone knew what hit them.

* * *

"While their distracted fighting on three fronts we'll take our opportunities to strike form the back." Takumi pointed to their least fortified location in the back. Simple enough, attack head on, right down the middle.

* * *

Ebony and Takumi had their Ninetales and Exploud respectively strike the backlines while they were distracted. Their coordination was perfectly synced and on-point. Takumi couldn't be happier with his team.

It was too early for celebrating just yet though, there was still much more to come and the rebels knew it. A town, no matter the size was not going down so easily. Cipher wasn't about to be pushed around so easily by a ragtag band of rebels.

From the fronts several of the men retreated. Without Pokemon to aid them in the battle they were practically useless. Especially against the forces of a Hydreigon and Gigalith. The grunts who weren't on guard did their best to hide from the growing conflict and reach out for help. One grunt managed to call out to his superior. "Hello?" A singsong voice answered.

"Miror B. sir, we have a major problem in Agitate Town. It's being overrun by the rebels! We need immediate back up!"

Miror B. kept calm, "Alright now, I need you boys and girls to stay calm. We shall send some lovely help your way in a jiffy."

"Thank you sir, we'll do our best to hold out until then, but we're losing numbers fast. This is a tactical assault we weren't prepared for."

"Understood." B. hung up. "Curse those naughty rebels." Miror B. made a quick call. "Dakim, we have an emergency situation in Agitate Town. We need to mobilize back up immediately. Also get ready, we're about to have a meeting about this."

"I'll mobilize my best agents." Dakim confirmed.

"Except Mei." B. made a point of this.

"Any particular reason? She would be best suited with dealing with rebels." Dakim knew Mei's vendetta with Wes so she'd be all the more motivated.

"Fool! We can't have her going toe-to-toe with _him _yet. Plus, she has to continue her training in the sim. She's our ticket to controlling the Shadow Mewtwo experiment." There was a lot Miror B. was keeping hidden from Mei. He had his reasons. Reasons that would protect Mei from harm.

"Roger." Dakim hung up.

Miror B. next dialed Aiden. "Pain in my- Aiden! How lovely it is to speak with you today."

"B. is there a problem?" Aiden asked.

"Keep Mei busy on the sim. Make sure she doesn't leave under any circumstances." He said sweetly.

Aiden glanced over at Mei. She was currently cursing furiously at the sim. "B., what's going on?"

"There's a bit of a situation going on. I'd rather our dear, little Mei not distract herself with such trivial pursuits." Miror B. made sure this point was clear. "Got it?"

Aiden shrugged, "Whatever. This conversation never happened." He hung up.

Back on Citadark Island in the experiment lab. Ein and Haruka were again hard at work on the latest series of tests. "Vitals are normal and Mewtwo seems to be developing at a healthy rate." Haruka observed.

"Perfect, we're all clear to begin the injection." Ein set up the machine and ran to syphoning process. It still made Haruka sick to her stomach to watch, but she was learning to cope as best she could.

Ein was suddenly interrupted by a phone call. "Go ahead and take it, I can handle this." Haruka at this point was more track the results of Mewtwo's darkness synthesis, as they called it.

Ein nodded and stepped into the hall, "This better be important."

"Agitate Town in under attack, this is an emergency meeting." It was Eldes who summoned him.

Ein's eyes widened, "Right away." He stepped back into the experiment room. "Haruka, I-" Ein froze when he saw Haruka on the ground covering her mouth.

"Ein, I'm sorry. I'm just feeling a little nauseous." She tried standing up, but what getting dizzy quick.

"Don't try to stand on your own. I'll take you to the medical bay." He rushed Haruka over, almost instantly forgetting about the meeting. He made sure the doctors ran ever test to figure out what was wrong and get back to him immediately.

The meeting had begun while Ein was tending to Haruka. He joined in the meeting room with Eldes, Ardos, and Greevil. Everyone else was video conferenced in. "You're late Ein." Greevil was not pleased.

"My apologies, Haruka has fallen ill so I had to tend to her first." He took his seat.

"Is everything alright?" Lady Venus asked.

"As far as I know it's just nausea. I'm having the doctors give her a checkup." Ein sank into his chair. "So what is the situation?"

"Currently, Agitate Town is under siege from the rebellion of all people. Being spearheaded by the traitor himself." Es Cade explained. "We've already sent backup, but too little avail."

Miror B. groaned, "Their truly pests, those rebels. Giving us such grief. That man has been a thorn in our side for too long."

"Looks like Takahata's finally ready to strike back. We still have the upper hand. We could wipe them out in a second. So don't see the point of this meeting." Dakim was perfectly happy to go there and end it himself.

"Let us not be hasty. One must look at all sides of the situation before acting." Greevil suggested. He was not a particular outspoken individual, but every word out of his mouth was law. So everyone listened.

"Are you suggesting we let them take the city, Master Greevil?" Miror B. couldn't believe his ears.

"We would know exactly where they are that way." Eldes spoke up.

"Precisely, besides, even if our agents are run out, it's not like they can defend the town forever. Maybe we'll get luck and that fool Sinclair and his liberators will do our job for us." Greevil laughed sinisterly.

"Lulling them into a false sense of security?" Lady Venus laughed.

Es Cade spoke next, "We can't let our guards down either. They know we could force them out at any time so they will be equally alert. While also fortifying their defenses."

Ein rubbed his chin, "Why would they go to all the trouble if it just meant they could be putting themselves in check? Are we over thinking this?"

While the admins and leaders discussed the possible outcomes of the battle, the frontlines were getting wiped out by the rebellion. Everything was going smoothly. Almost too smoothly. "Yo Takumi, ain't dis about the part where the admins start showin' up?" Cary also felt this was a little too easy.

Back up on Cipher's end was being set up and knocked down by the dozen. "Cary's right, this is _way _too easy for an invasion." Wes was barely breaking a sweat.

That was only the beginning though. They ask for stronger foes and Cipher delivered. A dozen men with considerably stronger Pokemon teleported in.

Takumi gasped, "Wes, we got Shadow Pokemon!"

Wes dawned his visor and scanned them. "Got it, don't worry, we'll get them." He held up his arm with the snag device.

The admins had connected to the visor of one of the agents to watch the battle first hand. "That boy has a snag machine?" Dakim pounded the table.

"Looks like the prototype that was stole from Eclo Canyon." Ein was intrigued. He could finally see what Wes was capable of.

"That's the pesky boy who's giving our darling Mei such trouble." B. could tell that had to be Wes. The admins finally got a good look at him. The footage from the hostage situation didn't show all the finer details like the visor cameras did.

"Go Espeon and Umbreon!" Wes wasted no time. They had a mission and he wasn't going to fail them. "Psychic! Assurance!" The others had Wes's back as well. Takumi especially was proving to be quite formidable.

"I must say, he certainly hasn't lost his edge." Miror B felt a bit intimidated. Takumi was easily as strong as, if not stronger than any of the admins and he did not appear to have grown soft over the years.

"He's just one man and a ragtag band of trainers. We have nothing to worry about." Greevil was not as impressed.

Wes fought on, taking down Shadow Pokemon after Shadow Pokemon. The others providing support. In the meantime, Takumi slipped out from the front lines and headed for the town hall. Inside he found the town's figure heads hiding. "I'm using this." He stepped pass them and got on their computer. He quickly opened a relay channel to the main conference room on Citadark.

Takumi appeared on screen in front of Ein, Greevil, Es Cade, Eldes, and Ardos. "Well look at that, it still works." He smirked triumphantly. "Now that I have your attention. I think it's time we talked."

Greevil snarled, "Was this all an elaborate ruse to get our attentions? You old fool."

"Look who's talking. The real reason I'm talking to you backstabbers is because I want to make one thing clear. We _will _take you down. I don't care what you, Gonzap, or Sinclair throws at us. My men and I will thrive. We will bring this region to glory. Most importantly, I will avenge my family you stole from me." Takumi was willing to gamble his life on this.

Es Cade laughed menacingly, "Really? You expect us to believe your small rebellion could stop us?"

Takumi chuckled, "You've seen what happened to Team Rocket and Team Plasma."

"Well, unless you have legendary Pokemon and the _world champion_ in your back pocket. As well as ways to bypass all the illegal activity that he would be held accountable for. Then I will have to call your bluff." Es Cade scoffed.

"Well one of your initiates has dropped off the grid, I know. I'm thinking Ryoko will be more than happy to help once he knows the truth."

Ein's eyes widened. His blood ran cold. "You stay away from the initiates!"

"Mei would probably turncoat too. Then getting Haruka would be easy. Don't think I won't pull that trigger. You know I'm not bluffing." Takumi's expression was dead serious.

Greevil nodded, "He has us there. Though, this implies Ryoko has indeed gone rouge. In which case we'd simply dispose of him ourselves. A full investigation of Kanto might be necessary."

"Heartless, old bastard." Takumi ended the call.

"Will we be expecting any more guests?" Ebony spoke up behind him.

"I didn't want to tip my hand too much, but the point was made. I think we should start looking around Kanto too. He was raised to be one of Cipher's ultimate trainers. With him on our side we could drastically change the face of this conflict." Takumi felt confident in this.

Ebony nodded, "I assume you can convince him?" Takumi nodded silently.

Back in the conference hall Ein stood up. "I'm going to go check on Haruka. Make sure she's okay." Takumi's words left him a bit shaken. No man had rattled like that, not in a very long time anyway.

Ein walked back into the medical bay with a frown. "Sir, we have the results. Haruka is lying down right now." Ein looked over the forms and grit his teeth. "As you can see the nausea is normal. She and-"

Ein crumpled up the results and throw them in a hazmat bin. "Keep this to yourself." He pulled out a medical pad and wrote up a prescription. "Tell her, she's to take these." Ein handed it to the doctor.

He looked shocked and confused. "Sir, this isn't really necessary. Plus, you know what the side effects of these are. Right?"

"Yes." Ein said coldly and stepped out. Today was proving to be a very bad day for Ein.

The rebels cleared out more and more Pokemon and fought off more and more grunts. Most had retreated. It looked as if they'd finally won. It was a hard fought battle, but in the end the rebellion saw their first large victory.

"We got quite a haul here. What'd we get in terms of Shadows Wes?" Cary was mostly standing guard to see if there were any stragglers or more waves coming.

"A Dugtrio, Hoothoot, Scyther, Sableye, Murkrow, and a Mr. Mime." Wes counted them up. "Not bad at all. Zeph really shined today too." He gave her a thumbs up.

"I was hoping for more of a challenge." She crossed her arms and leaned against one of the buildings.

Takumi walked back up to all of them, "You've all done well today, this was a great victory for us. Though, now Cipher knows exactly what we're capable of so they won't be taking us so lightly in the future." He cautioned.

"We best be on our toes. They could come and try and take this place back at any time." Ebony reminded them.

They all knew what a significant first step this was, even if they were a bit more exposed. The rebellion had secured their first real victory. Though now that cities were being sieged and numbers in the rebellion will once more be on the rise. The growing risk of an all-out war became all the more likely. The rebellion needed to stand strong against Cipher. To protect themselves and the region.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well the rebels have their first decisive victory against Cipher. As well as many other key points coming up in this chapter. Many mysteries and they all seem to come back to Ryo, Mei, and Haruka.


	35. Chapter 33: Malign Plotting

Chapter 33: Malign Plotting

"Aiden!" Mei's shout rang through the building as she walked in. Aiden nearly falling out of his chair.

"Holy crap Mei. Where's the fire?" He repositioned himself in his seat and addressed her calmly. "What's the matter?"

"Why didn't you tell me that Aragite was under attack yesterday? We lost a town to the rebels!" She was furious. At this point Aiden wondered if he should have just taken his chances with Miror B.

"I was stuck in here all day. I didn't know a thing." He thankfully had an alibi, a weak one, but he could at least argue that he was uninformed. "Here, I'll boot up the sim so you can go back to be pissed at Mewtwo and not me." He said with a smile, hoping to get some of the heat off of himself.

Mei glared at him, "I don't believe you." Mei stated flatly.

"Believe it or not, that's what happened. Now come on, you said you have some new strategies you want to implement today? Why don't you use different Pokemon? You know, like Ghost Types to combat the Psychic Type war machine." Seemed like a no brainer to Aiden.

"No, I have to be able to beat with my own abilities and Pokemon, we're a team so we have to overcome adversities together. I realized Makuhita's not going to help me out so I switched my team up a bit, but I'm still going to have to do this with only my Pokemon." Mei stubbornly limited herself to these conditions, but she knew if she ever had to battle the real thing she'd have only her Pokemon to do so with. So she had no choice.

Aiden shrugged, "Whatever, I guess that's why they want you to be Shadow Mewtwo's keeper." Aiden quickly covered his mouth.

"What did you say?" Mei heard correctly. She just needed assurance that was what Aiden was saying.

He sighed, "You're the one who's going to be assigned Shadow Mewtwo. Miror B. informed me on the details last night. It's not really a secret, but he probably wanted to tell you closer to the experiments completion. Haruka wasn't chosen for some reason and Ryoko's currently missing in action. So you are the only choice, also the first choice."

Mei's lit up. "Me? Shadow Mewtwo's trainer? Wow, I can't believe it!" This definitely Mei to work harder and more consistently. "Why not one of the admins though? Evice or Greevil themselves would probably be the best choices."

"You… _three_ are Cipher's future. They want to make sure you're strong enough to lead. Speaking of you three." Aiden began to ask.

"No, neither Haruka or I have heard anything from Ryoko. I've left him messages on his X-Transceiver and his PD*A. No luck. Haruka still calls him every day. Hoping he'll answer and telling him how her day has been." Mei was still constantly worried about Ryoko, but also Haruka. She's gotten better, but her mental well-being was still a bit shaky.

"That's rough. Poor Haruka, she's been through a lot. What's worse is we have no idea what his current condition is." Aiden wasn't really in the know, but he kept an ear open to new developments.

"Why haven't we mobilized more search teams?" Mei demanded an answer.

"Easy there Mei, we have sent agents to discreetly search Kanto, but we have no jurisdiction outside of Orre. We can't tell authorities to be on the lookout for Ryoko, because then they'll ask why he's in their region. Also, if we started disguising agents and teleporting them in people are going to start wondering why there's a bunch of rando with no identifications running around cities and towns." Their hands were tied and Aiden knew it.

Mei groaned, "Stupid political crap. This is Snattle's job. Why can't he do anything about it?" Mei had to wonder if he'd just given up.

"He's doing all he can, he has other priorities too." Aiden felt like he was just making excuses for them at this point.

"Fine, I'm going to get back to training now. I need to be able to beat Mewtwo if I can ever hope to control it. Once I do that then I'll start practicing with Mewtwo." Mei was definitely reinvigorated. She'd almost completely forgotten about Aragite Town. Much to Aiden's relief.

Meanwhile on Citadark, new developments have arisen. "Master Greevil. Our reports have come back; the target has been located." Eldes spoke.

Greevil looked out from a large glass window overlooking the entire island and the treacherous seas below. With a twisted grin the elderly leader turned to Eldes. "Very good, what is the status of its location?"

"The target is located deep in the depths of the Whirl Islands in Johto. How shall we proceed?" Eldes, as well as Ardos, was Greevil's right hand. His loyal guard since before Cipher's inception.

"In light of recent circumstances we may initiate our plans ahead of schedule." Greevil pulled out a small remote and opened a display on the window. "Evice."

Evice projected on the glass, "Yes sir." Evice oversaw a large amount of the activity in Orre and we privy to all the information Greevil was. The two were essentially the same rank, but Greevil was still in charge.

"How are plans proceeding with the experiment?" Greevil had an even more twisted smile. Just thinking about the torture the fetal Mewtwo was enduring to become the ultimate weapon in Cipher's arsenal made him giddy.

"From Ein's latest report the experiment is going even better than expected. The subject is synthesizing with the darkness perfectly. We're on track to be done days if not weeks ahead of our initial projected goal." Evice was proud to tell Greevil.

"I see, perfect. We may go ahead with the next phase then. With the recent loss of Aragite Town to those rebels. This could be the perfect opportunity to show them we still hold all the power." He gave a reserved cackle at the mere thought of it.

"Are you talking about project XD001?" Evice was surprised the target had been located already.

"I am Evice, we have located XD001 in the depths of the Whirl Islands. We need to mobilize our agents and strike while the getting is good." Greevil pulled up another display with available agents.

"Who shall we send to spearhead the mission?" Evice wondered if they should pull one of the admins for the job.

"I want to ensure nothing goes wrong. So I will send Ardos." Eldes gives his master a sideways glance. Not jealous that Ardos was chosen over him, but that Greevil would put Ardos in charge of a mission like this. "As well, I will be sending Haruka. I've been told Ein's giving her time off so she can focus on other matters."

"Haruka was showing signs of nausea for whatever reason. The problem has subsided it seems so she should have the okay to go on the mission." They've all been keeping a close eye on Haruka. The report Evice received from Ein was a clean bill of health. Saying it was probably just something she ate.

"Then she has the all clear to proceed. I want her to be the one to capture the target. If what we've been told is correct, Haruka is one of a chosen few. I'm sure she will be successful." Greevil was placing a lot of faith in Haruka's ability.

Back in the research lab, Haruka was in her room as usual. Though she wasn't working as she usually was. She laid on her bed holding her stomach. She was having sudden dizzy spells and more intense nausea. She's gotten sick once already and she hoped lying down would help keep down her lunch. She had a pitcher of water so she wouldn't dehydrate. She took some medicine which was helping, usually by the afternoon she was feeling better. So Haruka just laid around waiting whatever this virus was out. Ein wouldn't tell her for whatever reason. She had enough to worry about so he was probably just looking out for her best interests.

She started gagging and coughed into her hand. Small traces of blood stained Haruka's hand. She sat up and curled up into a ball. "_Ryoko, please come back. I need you._" She cried into her legs. She sent him the same message earlier.

She's interrupted by a transmission on her walkie-talkie. "Haruka?" She heard faintly.

Haruka dreaded getting up. She got to her feet and steadied herself. Grabbing the walkie-talkie from her drawer. "What Gonzap?" She was not in the mood.

"What, can a man not check up on his favorite mole? How are current developments?" He asked with a sinister grin. Haruka had been very forthcoming with him about revealing Cipher's plans.

"The Shadow Mewtwo project is proceeding better than expected. Don't expect to get your hands on it though." She informed him as she laid back down.

"Why is that? The way I see it when I finally gain control I'll have all the Pokemon in Cipher's arsenal." Gonzap was certainly ambitious.

"That's not what I mean, you couldn't control it. Legendary Pokemon are different. It's been a long held belief that legendary Pokemon allow themselves to be captured and trained by trainers they deem worthy. It's not yours to control if Shadow Mewtwo doesn't see you as its true trainer." This was something Haruka remembered reading about. It was an excerpt from a book in the Sinnoh library in Canalave City.

Gonzap laughed, "We'll see about that." He paused, "Then by that logic aren't you worried no one in the organization will be able to control Shadow Mewtwo?" Haruka didn't answer. "That's what I thought." Gonzap laughed once more.

"Have any of your men found Ryoko yet?" Haruka instantly shifted topics.

Gonzap looked down at his desk. Numerous pictures of Ryoko walking around Kanto with an unidentified woman we scattered across his desk. "Nothing conclusive yet I'm afraid." All the signs pointed to Ryoko's betrayal. Gonzap hoped to use this information, but he couldn't tell Haruka. It would kill her to find out the truth. Gonzap may be conniving and underhanded, but he still felt bad for the poor woman. "Don't worry, my men have been scouring every corner of the region. If he's out there. We will find him."

"Thank you, Gonzap. It's not good news, but I needed to hear that. At least someone's looking." Haruka couldn't help feeling vulnerable. "I'll get you more information as it becomes available to me." She quickly hid her walkie-talkie once more. She was starting to feel better, but Haruka was far from one hundred percent.

Moments later she heard a knocking on her door. She opened up to an agent standing at her door way. "Agent Haruka. You've been requested to Conference room A." He stood stiffly. A new recruit if ever she'd seen one.

She sighed, "By who's request?" There were a few admins she'd happily have the new blood tell them she was not in the mood.

"Master Greevil, ma'am." He felt awkward addressing her as ma'am when he was clearly a few years her senior.

Haruka's eyes widened, that was not the answer she was expecting. "Very well, thank you." She locked her door and headed to the conference room. The new recruit escorting her. "You don't have to lead me there. I know where it is."

"Just following orders ma'am. After this I have to clean out storage unit G, I was told." He followed his orders thoroughly.

Haruka respected that, but she had to break the news to him, "We don't have a storage unit G. That's a broom closet some of the guys put a sign on. They were going to trick up into go in and locking you in there for like an hour." Stupid hazing like that was common in Cipher. It was harmless, but immature.

"Wait seriously? Thank you for the heads up ma'am." He was relieved and more than a little pissed off at his fellow agents.

"Haruka."

"Pardon?"

"My name is Haruka, I'm eighteen years old, I don't want to be ma'am'd at all day. Just call me, Haruka." She said with a tired expression. It bothered her, but she understood why they did it. "Now you can carry on. This is probably a private meeting." She walked up to the door.

"Yes ma- Haruka! Yes, Haruka." He responded nervously.

She smiled softly, "What's your name?"

"Marco." He said in the more official way possible.

"Nice meeting you." She walked in and closed the door behind her. Making sure it was locked. To Haruka's surprise the room was completely empty. Not even Ein was there. Made sense, he was on Citadark Island currently.

The screen came on with Greevil's face as Haruka took a seat. "Haruka, good to see you. How are you feeling?"

She put up a brave front, "Fine, Ein said it was probably just something I ate." Confirming what Greevil heard.

"Good, this may seem a bit sudden, but have an important mission we want you to be a key player in." Greevil turned on a display of the Whirl Islands as well as Ardos's camera.

"You will be joining me on a mission of a very critical nature." Ardos addressed her. His voice was calm and deep. Much like Eldes, but sounded just a bit younger.

"What mission involves the Whirl Islands?" Haruka had to ask. This seemed like it was a pretty big deal if Ardos was leading it. Especially when it involved going to Johto.

"We're in search of this." A picture flashed up on screen. "Codename: XD001. Our mission is to capture and retrieve the Guardian of the Seas. Lugia."

Haruka raised a brow. "You think we have the man power to capture a legendary Pokemon like Lugia?"

"Do you doubt us?" Greevil spoke up.

Haruka shook her head, "No, I'm just surprised. I had no idea we'd set our sights on Lugia."

"It's been a top secret plan for a long time coming. We want you to help. No, this is not a request." Greevil explained.

"Understood. When do we depart?" Haruka figured an operation of this size require a bit of prep time.

"The necessary preparations have already been made. You will depart tomorrow." Ardos explained.

"A bit of a short notice, but understood." Haruka stood and bowed before them. "I will assure our mission's success." This was a bad idea. As she rose the world began spinning. Haruka used all her strength to stay kilter.

"Very good, that is all." The call ended abruptly.

Haruka doubled over and gagged. Crawling to the nearest waste bin before she lost it. The putrid smell. The taste burned in her mouth. Haruka, totally drained, used the wall to climb to her feet and picked up the waste bin. She walked out and dropped it in the nearest hazardous waste container.

She walked back into her room and splashed cold water on her face and drank more to wash away the taste plaguing her mouth. She could only hope this wasn't going to affect her performance on the mission tomorrow. She looked at the bottle, the drugs didn't seem to helping as much as she thought. They did little more than temporary subside the nausea.

The next day, Cipher had mobilized an entire army on the Whirl Islands. They managed to be very discreet. Haruka yawned and did her best to fight off any nausea. Taking more medicine before arriving, hoping for better results. Ardos stood beside her, "This has been a long time coming. We will not fail." He assured Haruka.

The goal was to not alert anyone on Cianwood or anyone else in Johto. The mission was way too critical. Lugia will be theirs, they told themselves. Haruka couldn't afford to blow another attempt at capturing a rare or legendary Pokemon. Johto was definitely not her favorite place to be after her past experiences.

From Cianwood, everything was peaceful. Civilians went about their business without even noticing. Except one person, man one who stood atop the highest point on the island watched as Cipher had mobilized. He had out his X-Transceiver, he'd already made one call. "_He's going to hate me for this._" He dialed once more. When the call connected he sighed, "Tia, thank god you answered. We have a problem." Chuck looked out towards the Whirl Islands. Whatever was about to happen, it couldn't be good.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Next chapter is going to be intense, I can tell you all that right now. I will finally have a bit more time to write than I have had. Yes, next chapter will be a crossover with Tia from Pokemon Sagas: Tia's Tales. Chapter 34 of Shadow Destiny will be happening concurrently with the events of Tia's Tales Chapter 95.


	36. Chapter 34: Legend in the Depths

Chapter 34: Legend in the Depths

Ryo's day had started out as any other. He and Rosa had arrived in Cerulean City the night before. It was strange how he'd slowly become acclimated to a normal life outside of Cipher. Yet he still felt burdened by guilt for running away. Haruka and Mei both called daily. He'd heard their messages. Ryo felt a pain deep in the pit of his stomach from Haruka's call the day before.

Haruka voice echoed in his mind, "_Ryoko, please come back. I need you._" Her crying killed him. He wanted to run back to her. Be there for her. Tell her everything will be alright.

Ryo clasped his chest as tears began rolling down his cheek. "There is no shame in a man crying. This is nary the moment for tears. Tis a bright and beautiful day." Rosa motioned to the sky. "Breathe it in."

Ryo's X-Transceiver rang suddenly. "Who could be calling now?" He collected himself and looked at it.

"Your maiden calling? Mayhaps your friend? They call endlessly." Rosa noted her dissatisfaction at all the calls Ryo got and never answered. He had an ironclad resolve not to answer them until he was ready.

"Blaine?" He answered, "Blaine, what's up?"

"Ryo, I'm glad you answered. We have an issue." Blaine said rather urgently.

"What's the problem. People causing problems on Cinnabar Island?" Ryo was ready to go at the drop of a hat.

"No, it's the Whirl Islands. I just received word from Tom that Cipher was spotted on there. It's not just a couple agents. They assembled an army from what I was told." Blaine told Ryo. "Would you know anything about this?"

"No, but I'm going to find out. Blaine, you'll probably want to stay clear. They may actually try to take Mewtwo this time if you showed up." Ryo hung up and ran back into the Pokemon Center.

"Halt!" Rosa shouted. "Would you really so willingly expose thyself? Just because thou wishes to try and stop Cipher activity?"

"Yes! I will not let Cipher have their way, especially outside of Orre." Ryo glared at Rosa. She was not going to stop him.

"Very well, a warrior's resolve is absolute. Trying to stop thou would be utterly pointless. Now make haste." Rosa respected him wishes.

Ryo didn't want to have to do this, but he quickly switched to his old team. "Alakazam use Teleport." Instantly Ryo was in the Cianwood Pokemon Center. Unfamiliar surroundings were not ideal. He ran across the beach seeing if he could get a better vantage point. He eventually noticed a large cliff and a series of stairs up to them. He made a run up the stairs, but found himself winded half way up. "I'm not _that _out of shape."

The top of the cliff providing a complete view of what was happening. An older man looked back, "Who might you be?"

Ryo took a second to catch his breath. "Ryo, I'm here to help. Blaine told me. I used to be a part of Cipher." He hit on the important details.

"I see, perfect more allies the better. Speaking of." He looked to the sky as a figure gradually came into focus. It was a Flygon and its rider. "Well, this will be interesting."

The Pokemon and trainer landed. "Chuck, what's the situation?" Tom asked before noticing they had company. "Ryo?"

"Tom." He nodded.

"Looks like we've got a few dozen men. I don't know any of the agents to tell who's in charge. The last of our back up should be arriving shortly." Chuck explained.

"You told someone else?" Tom was not privy to this information.

They hear running from the steps. Light and agile, they weren't stopping. Ryo looked back as the person reached the top. A tan girl with crimson red hair approached with great urgency. She was very fit that was apparent. She wasn't even winded running those stairs. Something felt familiar about her to Ryo.

"Chuck, I'm here." She looked around at Tom, but fixated on Ryo. "You!" She gave Ryo a death glare and immediately charged at him.

"Wait, no! He's not the enemy!" Tom tried to explain, but she dove at Ryo. Tackling him to the ground.

"Ah! Get off me. I'm not the bad guy here." He got a better look at her face. The voice, it finally clicked. Hitting him like a ton of bricks, almost literally.

"Tia stop!" Tom tried pulled her off of him, but she was too strong for him.

"Tia." Chuck put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

She took a deep breath and got off Ryo. "You have exactly one second to explain why you're here. What is Cipher up to?" Tia shouted viciously.

"I don't know! That's why we're trying to tell you. I defected!" Ryo could finally get a word in edge wise.

Tia paused, "You're not with Cipher anymore?"

"Yes! Ask him." Ryo knew Tom would vouch for him. "Hell, ask Blaine or Prof. Oak. Ask your own brother. I'm not lying."

"When did you mean Prof. Oak or Red?" Tia asked more calmly.

"When I defected, I wanted a clean start. So I went to Pallet Town, begging for a chance to redeem myself and a Pokemon from Oak." Ryo wanted it to be crystal clear he wasn't lying.

"Wait, but Blaine told me that you betrayed him and stole information on Mewtwo." Tia remembered how distraught Blaine was too.

Ryo sighed with relief. "He's a pretty good actor. I told Blaine to say that. Just in case Cipher came looking for me. I did betray him, but I also tried to undo what I did. I couldn't stop it though." Ryo confessed his past transgressions.

"Anyway, we need to figure out what is going on." Tom interrupted.

"Right," Ryo pulled out some binoculars, "there's something big hiding in the Whirl Islands. Cipher wouldn't pull something like this unless it was for a good reason."

"You recognize anyone? Like a leader?" Tia asked.

Ryo focused more. "Oh no, that's Ardos." Ryo would recognize him anywhere.

"Ardos?" Tom asked.

"One of Cipher's elites. He's never on missions. He's Greevil's right hand. Cipher is primarily run by two men. Greevil and Evice. Ardos, as well as, Eldes are Greevil's right hand." He paused and scanned the surroundings a bit more. What Ryo saw next made his blood run cold. "No." He stood paralyzed.

"Who do you see?" Tia quickly took a look.

"Haruka." Ryo collapsed to his knees. He'd turned his back on Cipher. Utterly betraying them. Now he was conspiring against them. He was ready for their hate, but he wasn't ready for Haruka.

His X-Transceiver rang. He didn't answer he saw her reaching for it. He let it ring and ring. Once more Haruka left a voice message. As if to further torture himself he played it back. "Ryoko, please. I'm on a very important mission. I just need to hear you tell me this will be all okay. That I can do this. I've been having a very hard time not getting sick. I know if Ardos sees me like this he'll send me home. Please, I love you." Ryo felt his heart being ripped out of his chest.

"I don't know if I can do this." Ryo had lost all his will to fight back. He was helpless before Haruka. He couldn't even muster the energy to stand.

Tom felt his absolute misery. "I know how you feel." He remembers that same dread when he knew he'd have to stand against Sabrina and Team Rocket.

Tia balled her fist and stared down at Ryo, "Are you really going to give up?" She shouted. "You were my enemy. You attacked my home region, my friends, and tried to steal helpless Pokemon. Yet, when we battled there was something I knew about you that stuck out more than anything. Your love for her! You jeopardized you own mission just to protect her back at the Lake of Rage."

"Her and I weren't on opposite sides then." Ryo explained.

"So? Do you really think her loyalty to Cipher is more important than her love for you?" Tia couldn't believe that.

Ryo got up, "You don't know Haruka like I do. Seeing me fighting against Cipher will crush her. I can't even think about how painful that would be for her."

"Regardless, we have to act now." Tom stepped in. "Ryo, are you in or out?"

Ryo paused, he had a million reasons for and against. "I'm… in."

"Good, now what's our strategy?" Tom asked.

"Frontal assaults suicide. Attacking from behind is also pretty useless. The islands are pretty well covered on all sides." Tia examined the battlefield.

"So if we can't surround them, then maybe we can surprise them from above?" Chuck winked.

"No, Cipher's smarter than that. We'd be blasted out of the air before we could get over the islands. Unless we went in with Rayquaza." He looked to Tom.

Tom smiled and petted his Flygon, "I've got one better."

"So Tom attacks from the air. What do we do? Sneak around the sides?" That was Tia idea anyway.

Ryo nodded, "That'd be the best choice. You and Chuck can take the right where the largest volume of agents are. I'll handle the left and make my way into that cave." Ryo figured they were headed for that cave so if he could sneak in first he could corner Haruka.

"Are you sure about that?" Tia knew Haruka was over there too.

Ryo nodded silently. "That's the plan. You're going to have to think on your feet."

"Should we call in more back up?" Chuck asked.

Tom shock his head, "No, we are just going to stop whatever they plan on doing." Tom had a sinking feeling he knew what they wanted though. If that was the case, then he couldn't stop them regardless.

From the ground the mission was proceeding smoothly. Haruka hung up and looked around. "I want all men in position, Lugia can awaken anytime now. We need to be on guard. Especially if someone catches us. Then we take no prisoners." Haruka ordered.

"Haruka, you're efforts have been exceptional." Ardos was happy to report. "Does everything seem to be going smoothly?"

Haruka nodded, "Yes, we haven't had an issues yet. Taming Lugia is not going to be easy though."

Ardos nodded, "I had no notions that it would be. Carry on." Ardos tended to his own agents as plans carried on.

After several moments preparations were for the most part complete. "Ma'am there appears to be something in the sky."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious. What is it?" She saw it too, but the light concealed it.

"Alright Flygon use Draco Meteor!" Rocks fell on the unsuspecting grunts as Tom descends.

Men scramble every which way as their Pokemon get pulverized by the attack. "Who is attacking us?"

"Hydro Pump!" Tia called out as her Gyarados blew away more Pokemon.

"You!" Haruka recognized Tia's voice.

"Why is Cipher in Johto?" Tia demanded an answer.

"That is of no concern of yours, girl." Ardos called out a Gengar to fend off Tia.

"Fire Punch!" Chuck and his Hitmonchan hopped into the fray as well. Fire Punch connected with Gengar and successfully burned Gengar.

"Who are you people?" Ardos angrily demanded an answer.

"I am Chuck, gym leader of Cianwood Island." He was not intimidated.

"I'm Tia and we're not going to let you get away with whatever it is you're doing." Tia may not know the details behind Cipher's plans, but she didn't care. She knew it was no good.

Ardos scowled, "Protect the machine and Haruka!" Ardos had to prioritize this over an all-out battle with three party crashers. He looked up to Tom who was attacking with Flygon's Flamethrower left and right. "The world champion, of course." Tom's reputation definitely proceeded him.

The men rushed Haruka into a cave with a large machine. "What in the world? How is this happening?" The men were frantic.

They hear the sound of footsteps from behind them. "Who goes there?" They called out their Pokemon to guards the machine and Haruka.

The light slowly exposed Ryo and Metagross as he walked up to Haruka and the rest. "Ry…Ryoko." Tears welled up in Haruka's eyes as she ran to him. Throwing herself at him. She sank to her knees, slowly anchoring him down. It was like a dream to her. Except this was no dream. The warmth of his chest. His strong arms. Everything was so real. Instead of a dream it was like Haruka had finally awoken from a nightmare.

"Haruka." He held her close and tightly. "I'm so sorry I've put you through all of this."

She sobbed uncontrollably. Tears of pure joy and bliss. It was like everything was suddenly right with the world. "It's fine. I'm just glad you're back. It's been killing me not knowing where you were."

He slowly caressed her hair. "I know. I'm so sorry for all that, but I had no choice. I love you, Haruka. I never want to leave your side again." He desperately hoped that would become a reality.

"Why?" Haruka whimpered.

"What?"

"Why didn't you come back for so long? Why now have you decided to show up?" Haruka was asking questions she was not going to like the answers to.

Ryo was terrified to answer her, because he couldn't lie. He couldn't do that to Haruka. No matter how much it would crush her to hear the truth. "Haruka, I'm sorry." He saw the agents protecting Haruka and the machine. They had to divert their attention to fend off Chuck. "I'm so sorry."

"Ryoko please tell me." Haruka cried into his arms. Ryo felt his clothes getting wet from her tears. It would kill her to know the truth, but it killed him that he had to tell her.

"I left Team Cipher." He finally confessed his betrayal.

"What?" Haruka couldn't believe him. She looked him dead in the eyes.

"Haruka, I quit Team Cipher. I'm here to stop whatever they're planning. I tried stopping Mika from stealing Mewtwo's data, but when that failed I fled. I needed to get stronger. So I could return to Orre and take down Team Cipher once and for all."

Haruka's eyes widened, "So we're enemies now?" She choked out the most devastating realization. Her and Ryo were now on opposite sides.

"No, please Haruka. Come with me. We can stop Cipher together." He said full of hope now that they were reunited.

"Ryoko? What are you saying? Cipher is all we've ever known. We have nothing without them." Haruka started shaking and trembling. "I can't give that all up."

"We can! we can run away from all of this. You and me. We can convince Mei too. I know it. Please Haruka. Cipher is full of monsters." Ryo tried to keep his composure the best he could, but he was cracking.

"We're monsters!" She shouted back at him. "Ryoko if you love me then you won't do this."

Ryo didn't know how to respond. The only reason he was doing any of this was so they could have a better life. It was for the good of all the people of Orre, but especially Haruka. He got up, slowly letting Haruka go. "Metagross, Meteor Mash!" Metagross flew forward and obliterated the machine and Pokemon the grunts were controlling.

They turned to Ryo, "Traitor!" There it was. The final nail in the coffin. Ryo was now and forever going to be branded a traitor. "Sir Ardos we've located Agent Ryoko. He's gone rogue and destroyed the machine!"

"What?" Ardos was furious. "I will get that bastard." He gritted his teeth and ran for the cave with his Pokemon providing cover.

"Where do you think you're going? Tyranitar!" Tia had her Pokemon block his path and step intercepted him.

"Out of my way child. You are not my problem right now." Ardos was not above using physical force.

"Well from where I'm standing I think I am. Tyranitar use Avalanche." Tyranitar called down piles of ice and frozen rock on the surrounding Pokemon.

Ardos growled and walked right up to Tia. "Don't trifle with me, girl." He reached for her quickly, but Tia easily knocked his hand away.

"You're not going anywhere. Now kneel." Tia ordered.

"Kneel? I would never kneel to weak trainer like you. You have strong allies, without them you are powerless." Ardos was not threatened by Tia in the least.

"I said kneel!" Tia shouted. Suddenly her eyes began to glow and Ardos's body began to feel like it was being weighed down by tons of force.

He tried to stay up, but slowly he felt the air around him increasing in pressure. He collapsed to one knee when his strength to resist finally gave in. "How are you doing this?" Ardos had never felt anything like this before; he was sweating and exerting all his strength just to keep himself kneeling.

Tia stood over Ardos like she was his superior. Her eyes radiating with Ki. "It's called Ki Pressure. I'm using my Ki to exert force down on your body. It's a trick only Adepts can use. I created it myself."

Chuck saw this, "Tia's abilities are getting stronger every time I see her." His student was very quickly surpassing her master.

Tia began to sweat though, she felt a sudden sharp pain course through her body. Her head started to throb and her Ki Pressure released.

Ardos quickly got to his feet and walked over to Tia. Looming over her as she clutched her head. "Seems like your abilities have their limits as well. I must say it was an impressive trick, but it won't stop us." He reached for Tia to restrain her.

Tia quickly retaliated with an uppercut to Ardos's stomach. Knocking the wind out of him and causing him to double over in pain. "I can still fight. I just know where my limits are now." It was a solid blow that kind of hurt her hand. Looks like Brendan won that bet, she thought.

Tia ran past and towards the cave where the agents seemed to be hiding the device. "Ryo, we've got the outside under control. How is the situation in here?"

Haruka stared at Tia with malice. "You're working with _her_? Ryoko why are you doing this?" Haruka felt her heart being tore right out of her chest. Her head was spinning. Suddenly everything was wrong in the world.

"Haruka!" Ryo grabbed her before she toppled over. "Haruka are you alright?"

She recovered and wrenched herself out of his arms. "Get away from me! Ryoko, I need an answer!"

"I told you already. I want to stop Cipher once and for all. I'm doing this for you and everyone else." Ryo tried to explain this to her.

"Me? Why would you ever think I'd want this? We had everything worked out for us. Our futures are admins. We could have ruled Orre together. Why did you turn your back on our dream?" Haruka fell to her knees and started gagging. She clutched her stomach and began crying.

"Haruka!" He put a hand on her back.

"Don't touch me!" She screamed. "Don't ever touch me again. You are not the man I love!"

Ryo froze, he felt his blood run cold. As if the life had been drained out of him in a single second. Ryo loved Haruka, she was his world. "Haruka, please. I love you." Tears began streaming down his face.

She snarled back with her own bloodshot eyes. "If you really loved me, you wouldn't have done this! I hate you!"

Ryo collapsed to his knees, he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Haruka hated him? The words repeated over and over in his head, but they didn't sound real. Haruka was his girlfriend. The woman he loved. The woman he wanted to settle down with, get married, have children with. Haruka was Ryo's everything. Without her there was nothing in his life.

The cave began to shake. The rocks rumbled as it grew in intensity. "We have to get out of here now!" Tia started for the mouth of the cave, but neither Haruka, nor Ryo moved. "Come on!"

"Leave me. I'd rather be dead." Ryo said deadpan.

Haruka heard Ryo's words and looked at him sympathetically. "Ryoko. What I said was horrible. Without you, I'd rather die too."

Tia balled her fist and ran up to both of them. "Snap out of it!" She back handed Ryo and Haruka. "We're getting the hell out of this cave!" She grabbed them both by the arm and dragged them out. "Nothing good ever happens in caves!" Tia shouted on their way out.

The cave rumbled and collapsed as a shadowy figured rose up from the under the surface. "No." Tom saw it from the sky. A long neck, slender form, two large wings, and tail. "So that's what Cipher was after." He saw Tia, Ryo, and Haruka running out. More Tia dragging them, but they narrowly avoided the cave in. "Guys! It's awake! Lugia is coming up from the surface!" A cyclone shot up from the surface as Lugia flew through it. Lugia stretched its mighty wings and dispersed the cyclone causing it rain down on everyone.

"Yes! It's awake! Come to your new masters Lugia!" Ardos motioned for all his remaining forces to attack the legendary bird. "Soon Cipher will have not one, but two legendary Pokemon!"

"Draco Meteor!" Tom deliberately attacked Lugia in some hope of scaring it off. Lugia was understandably not pleased. Lugia trained its sights on Tom and fired a devastating Ice Beam. "Oh crap!" Flygon got hit and frozen solid. Tom was heading for the ground in a free fall. "Gardevior use Teleport!" He threw his Pokeball at the ground. Gardevior quickly teleported Tom inches from the ground. With a loud thud Tom landed. "Okay, _that _didn't work." He called back his frozen Flygon.

Ryo quickly snapped out of his numb state and got up. "Metagross use Flash Cannon!" Metagross fired back at Lugia as well, but the legendary Pokemon wasn't going to be taken by surprise again. Lugia flew swiftly through the air and fired back with a Thunder attack. The size and sheer power of the Thunder was sure to hit more than just Metagross.

Suddenly, a large green blur appeared in front of them, absorbing the attack without a second thought. "I must say, tis quite a sight to behold. A mighty adversary hast awoke from the depths."

Ryo looked over in shock at his protector. "Rosa?"

She smiled, "Twas not my concern, but as a knight thou shan't turn one's back on an ally in danger."

"What Renaissance Festival did you meet her at?" Tia asked. Though her concerns were more on the Pokemon Rosa had with her.

"Still thy tongue plebeian. I am a royal knight of the mighty King N. This is my stalwart Pokemon Virizon." Virizon stood majestically against Lugia. It's quadrupedal form and bright green body stood resolute.

"Virizon? Rosa?" Tom ran over with Chuck, both equally shocked. Tom more so than Chuck.

She stared down Tom. "Sky Dragon wielder. The boy who dared stand against my king. Aiding that infernal Black Hero." Rosa and Tom weren't exactly on good terms. She looked at Haruka who was still a crumbled mess. "I take it the fair maiden is your swain?" Rosa addressed Ryo.

Ryo didn't look at Haruka, "Yeah." His melancholic response spoke volumes.

Haruka got to her feet and glared at all of them with great distain. "Magnezone." She called out her Pokemon.

"Haruka, no." Ryo had Metagross at the ready. "I don't want to battle you."

"Then stay out of my way. I'm catching Lugia no matter what." Her response was cold.

"Haruka, you can't do this." Ryo still tried reasoning with her.

"Then try and stop me, traitor." She refused to speak his name.

"Haruka, please. It's me, Ryoko. I love you. I just want to be with you." While also putting Haruka is a very difficult position.

"Shut up! As far as I'm concerned _my _Ryoko died after his mission on Cinnabar! You're not the man I knew! Just a hollow impersonation!" Tears streamed down Haruka's face. Her voice was hoarse. She felt nauseous, her head began spinning, and the whole world felt off kilter. Haruka was in a bad way.

Ryo helped stabilize her. "Don't touch me!" She smacked his hand away.

"Magnezone use Thunderbolt on Lugia!" She finally attacked.

"Haruka no!" Ryo shouted desperately.

"Virizon!" Virizon intercepted the attack for Lugia. Lugia itself looked down at Virizon. The two legendary Pokemon had an unspoken, mutual respect. Lugia, the sea's guardian. Virizon a noble and just Pokemon. One of the Swords of Justice legends spoke of.

"You're out numbered." Tia said. Ryo wasn't going to let Cipher have Lugia even if he had to fight Haruka, and Rosa had no qualms with battling Haruka.

"Extreme Speed!" Arcanine came Between them and Magnezone. Tom a top his Arcanine, but oddly wearing his X Mask.

"Tom, we got her cornered." Tia said confidently, but something bothered Tia. "Tom. Why are you wearing your mask?"

X sighed, "Let her go." His voice was distorted under the mask.

"What?" Ryo was shocked to hear this. "We can't. Haruka, please just come peacefully."

"No, she's to capture Lugia." X said coldly.

"What?" Tia shouted. "No way! Tyranitar use Dark Pulse!"

"Fire Blast!" Arcanine struck down Tia's Pokemon before Tyranitar could ready his attack.

"You bastard!" Tia ran up to Tom and yanked him off Arcanine. Holding Tom by the collar. "We have Cipher right where we want them! We can save Lugia. Why have you decided now to let them take Lugia!" Tia shouted in his face.

"It's my orders." X's stance was unchanging.

Tia ripped the mask off his face. "Orders? Who the hell do you answer to that gave you those orders?" She was furious.

"Release him, tis pointless arguing with a master's dog." Rosa spoke knowing more than she'd let on. "Lugia has made its decision."

Lugia slowly descended upon the group. Virizon bowed its head respectfully and parted for Lugia. Lugia giving a nod as to acknowledge the Sword of Justice.

"Lugia no!" Ryo stood in front of Lugia without stretched arms. "You don't know what Cipher will do to you! They'll capture you, imprison you, corrupt your heart, and make you their slave! A tool to take over Orre! You have to listen to me!"

"That's enough out of you traitor!" An older man's voice echoed from behind them. They turned to see Eldes and Ardos flanking the short, old man. "Lugia will be ours."

"Greevil!" Ryo snarled.

"Who is he?" Tia let go of Tom and shifted her focus.

"The head of Team Cipher." The last man Ryo hoped to see.

"Haruka. Complete your mission." Greevil ordered.

Haruka nodded silently. Walking past Ryo without even once glancing at him. She pulled out a Pokeball and tossed it at Lugia.

"Legendary Pokemon choose their trainer." Tom said. The Pokeball shook once. "That's why I had to stop you." Twice. "I'm sorry Tia, you must hate me right now, but it was Lugia's decision, not mine." Three times and locked with a ping.

Haruka picked up the Pokeball. She held it tightly in her hand. "Lugia," she gritted her teeth and called it out, "destroy this traitor!"

Ryo froze as his heart felt like it stopped. Lugia trained its sights on him. "Haruka. Why?"

"It's what you deserve after what you've done to me. Aeroblast!" Haruka ordered, but suddenly, Haruka felt a shooting pain. She clasped her stomach and doubled over in pain. She covered her mouth, but she could stop herself from getting sick. It burned in her mouth. Tears welled up in her eyes. At this point Lugia had ceased its attack.

Ryo ran to her, "Haruka!"

"Don't touch me!" She swatted his hand away.

Eldes and Ardos grabbed Ryo by each arm and dragged him away from her.

"Haruka! Haruka! Haruka!" He shouted desperately over and over.

"Let him go." Both Tom and Tia stood before Eldes and Ardos.

"I'm afraid we don't take orders from children." Eldes scoffed.

"You will if we say so." Tom glared at both of them both were beginning to feel very nervous and on edge. Eldes started shaking like a leaf.

"What is this?" His face twisted to pure terror and he relinquished Ryo.

Tia looked Ardos right in the eyes, "You know what I can do to you."

He begrudgingly gave up Ryo. "This isn't over."

Tom released his empathic influence. "You're right. All those men we beat. We're keeping by the way. They will be more than enough to build a case against Cipher. Invasion, disrupting the peace, and heck why not throw an act of war in there too." They had them dead to rights there.

Greevil cackled, "I suppose that can't be helped. Let us go. You can keep the dog for now." Ardos returned Lugia to the Pokeball while Eldes grabbed Haruka. The four teleported out as if nothing happened. Everything felt eerily back to normal.

"What do we do now?" Tia asked.

Tom sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "You're going back to Hoenn. I'll take care of Ryo."

Rosa stepped forward, "Nay, I shall handle him. We are travelling comrades."

"That explains it. I take it you don't know where N is?" Tom felt like he was missing a few key details.

"Indeed, we shall venture onward. Though me thinks he may need a break to recover." Rosa gave Ryo a sympathetic pat on the back.

"I wanted to fix all this, but all I did was make her hate me." Ryo stood a hollow shell of whom he once was.

Tom put a hand on Ryo's shoulder. "She didn't mean that. Haruka was a mess of emotions, but never once did she truly feel hatred towards you."

"Let me guess, she was afraid?" Tia figured that had to be it.

Tom nodded, "Don't give up."

Ryo finally smiled, "Thank you all."

Chuck walked up, "Well taking care of all those grunts was a chore. I missed all the fun too." The group chuckled. "Ryo, I can't say I know anything about you or your situation, but I saw a strong trainer today."

"Well said master." Tia gave Chuck and Ryo a thumbs up. "I'm ready to go back to Mauville City."

"I'm ready for bed." Tom groaned. "Here, I'll teleport you back." Tom called out his Gardevior again. "Good luck."

"Thank, and Ryo." Ryo looked to Tia. "I'm glad you've found the right path." Tia smiled and teleported out.

Tia was back in Mauville City. It was getting close to night time. Tia looked at her X-Transceiver and saw her messages. Brendan left a voice mail. They'd headed to Verdanturf. Tia quickly headed for the next town. Thankfully, the two weren't very far apart.

Tia walked into the Pokemon Center silently after about an hour's travel. Nel and the others weren't around, but she did see Brendan. He seemed to have doused off waiting for her. Tia gently nudged him. "Huh? Tia, your back." He said with great relief.

"Yeah, thanks for waiting." She sat down next to him.

"Is everything alright?" He looked Tia over to make sure she was okay.

"It's complicated, but for now yeah." Tia couldn't really get into all the details right this second.

"You're not hurt are you?" He asked.

Tia chuckled, "Well, I did bruise my hand." Punching Ardos. Tia winked, got up, and giggled, "Hope I don't make Roxanne jealous."

"Why?" Brendan asked, and quickly learned why. Tia leaned down and gave Brendan a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you for worrying about me." Tia ran upstairs without even bothering to grab a key while Brendan sat confused and more than a little surprised.

Meanwhile, back in Kanto. Ryo and Rosa returned to Cerulean City and settled in for the night. Ryo went to sleep, but all he could think about was his next move. Where was he going to go from here? There was one thing he knew for sure. He was going to stop Cipher. He knew this now more than ever.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well a whole lot sure happened in this crossover chapter. Things are really starting to happen now. The next chapter of Tia's Tales will pick up right where all of this left off. So I hope you all look forward to that and the next chapter of Shadow Destiny.


	37. Chapter 35: Clouded Futures

Chapter 35: Clouded Futures

"So the capturing of Lugia went well." Miror B. snickered.

"That's not funny." Eldes said dryly. "We have a huge issue on our hands. With Agent Ryoko going rogue we're at a huge security risk. He could leak all our plans and security protocols. Not to mention all our men that were detained."

"The children spearheading this plan were pretty well connected too. Dozens of the strongest trainers all over the world would gladly take up arms alongside them." Miror B. was actually impressed by this network of trainers.

"Why aren't you taking this more seriously? If that World Champion brat gets his way, we could be annexed and have all our documents seized. Cipher is in jeopardy if that happens." Eldes was starting to lose his temper with B.

"Oh calm down, you really think if they wanted to they would have done so already. You need to have more faith in Snattle. Though, he is surely in one heck of an upheaval right now." B. chuckled. "As for that naughty boy Ryoko, we'll take care of him. As long as we have his dear Haruka and Mei, he'll come back. No doubt trying to recruit them to his foolish cause." It was rare to see Miror B. so cold and calculated, but he didn't get to be in the position he was in by goofing off all the time. The sound of loud footsteps comes rushing down the hall. "Speaking of."

"Miror B.!" Mei threw open the door as she shouted. "What is this I've heard about Ryoko turning traitor?" Mei was livid to hear those rumors. True or not.

"I'm afraid it's true my little Mei. Our Ryoko has surfaced as a traitor. Dear Haruka is very distraught." B. regretted having to inform her of this. It was a sad reality. One that would reflect worse on Ein since he spearheaded the program to begin with.

Mei couldn't believe what she was hearing, Ryoko, her best friend turned traitor. Nothing about that made sense to her. Mei balled his fist and ran out the door.

"Poor girl," Eldes sympathized with her, "it'll be hard on both of them. We will need to make sure they don't follow suit."

"Mei's loyalty to Cipher is unwavering, she is one of our best agents. Truly she is. You know this. Plus, someone let it slip that she's the prime candidate to receive Shadow Mewtwo." Miror B. gave a devious chuckle.

Mei stomped down the hall, every agent was smart to avoid her. Mei needed to blow off some steam and she knew just the simulation to do it. She headed right to the simulator, slamming the door open. Aiden nearly fell out of his chair, by this point he figured he'd be use to this.

"Morning sunshine." He groaned. "Sim's already for you."

Mei entered without a word and booted up the sim battle. Mewtwo stared her down. The program, nothing but a bunch of ones and zeroes, but she still felt like it was mocking her. She hated it so much. She saw her own inadequacies in it. She felt the gut wrecking betrayal eating away at her.

"Thunderbolt Lanturn then quickly dodge. Mewtwo is going to come right for us with a Psystrike!" Mei had become an expert on out predicting Mewtwo's strategies. Though it was just a simulation, Mewtwo's sim A.I. was actually pretty advanced. Everyone else who tried battling it was crushed in horrible defeat. Even more elite agents were beat without much of a fight. Mei was the only ones who could last any more than a minute against Mewtwo. Literally hundreds of battles later she has yet to beat the sim.

Mei wasn't going to get discouraged though, at this point there would be no sense in it. After the countless hours of trying Mei was going through to beat Mewtwo. She had to. She now more than ever had something to prove. Ryoko betrayed them, she could not forgive that. She'll get stronger and show him the strength Cipher has and why he was a fool for abandoning them.

Mewtwo did exactly what she'd expected, Mei was ready this time. "Alright, Lanturn let's get out of the way because Mewtwo's probably going for a Psychic. Since a close up approach wasn't getting Mewtwo anywhere it'll probably try attack from a distance. The second it does give it another Thunderbolt." Mei was trying to keep her feelings in check since she knew if she let her anger get the better of her, then she'd lose.

Mewtwo did just as she expected, striking with Psychic from a distance. Lanturn narrowly avoided the attack and hit Mewtwo with another Thunderbolt. Mei just had to play it safe and be smart. This had been pretty obvious to her in all her previous battles. Mewtwo was unfortunately smart too. Quickly shifting its plans to a more direct approach. Overwhelming Lanturn with speed and raw power. Something Mei's Lanturn didn't have.

It was uncanny how strong Mewtwo was. Still, Mei couldn't get discouraged. "Okay Lanturn hang in there and use Surf." Lanturn was hanging in by a thread, but once Lanturn got the opportunity it took it. Surfing to wash away Mewtwo and travelling on the water to create more distance. "Now Thunder!" Lanturn drenched Mewtwo making it a much easier target for the wild and hard to control attack.

Lightning came crashing down on Mewtwo, but the legendary Pokemon stood tall. Charging in for one final Psystrike, knocking out Lanturn.

"Swalot use Toxic!" Mei sent out her Swalot who did just as she requested. Unfortunately, Mewtwo annihilated Swalot with a Psychic second later. Still, Mei got what she needed. Toxic badly poisoned Mewtwo.

"Slaking use Hyper Beam!" Mei wasn't going to stop. She had to win. Hyper Beam hit, dealing a nasty amount of damage, but Mewtwo continued fighting on. Truant came back to bite them both as Mewtwo took the opportunity to lay into Slaking with a Focus Blast while it recharged and rested. It was nothing short of a miracle that Slaking survived that attack.

"Again!" Mei ordered. Knowing this would undoubtedly be the last chance Slaking got to strike before being beaten down by Mewtwo. The Hyper Beam was especially powerful, blasting Mewtwo dead on at a critical range. With a powerful blow back, Mewtwo slide back and paused. Finally showing signs of fatigue. This was quickly replaced with pure aggression as Mewtwo finished off Slaking.

"Mewtwo is still cutting through my team." She was now down three Pokemon and it was just now showing signs of fatigue. The poison was Mei's only hope at this point. Stalling enough and doing some hard hitting damage. A true battle of attrition.

"Go Slowking, we need to do this. Use Shadow Ball." She wanted to save Slowking, her trump card. She could have tried getting more Ghost and Dark Types or use more Ghost or Dark Type moves, but she wasn't going to alter team. She stayed true to this strategy. Shadow Ball followed Mewtwo as it tried avoiding it. Taking a hit to its back. Mewtwo was definitely in a pinch now. Poison was taking its toll on it.

Mewtwo retaliate with a Shadow Ball of its own. Mei smiled, "Perfect. Slowking use Protect!" She had it. Mei's call was executed perfectly, Slowking protected itself right as the incoming attack drew near. A bit too close for comfort, but she made it count. "Now Shadow Ball!" Mei responded with zeal. Slowking manifested a Shadow Ball and launched it. Hitting Mewtwo squarely in the chest. What followed was a huge discharge of dark energy exploding against Mewtwo.

When the smoke cleared Mewtwo stood hunched over clasping its chest. Finally, a sudden jolt of pain afflicted Mewtwo causing the legendary Pokemon to drop to its knees and fall prone. "We… won?" Mei couldn't believe her eyes. She and her Pokemon had beaten Mewtwo. "We won!" She cheered.

"Mei, I can't believe it." Aiden was amazed. It was like a dream. No one had even come close. Honestly, Aiden would be surprised if anyone else would. Mei was a Cipher elite through and through. "I'll report this to Miror B."

Mei nodded, "Yeah, I can finally start training using Mewtwo now. There's one other thing I want to take care of first."

"What's that?" Aiden was curious.

"It's a more personal matter, I'll see you later." Mei joyfully walked out. She walked the streets of Phenac. Agents nodding and occasionally greeting her. Mei just kept walking until she turned down an alleyway. "Abra." She called out a transport Abra. "Teleport me to the gate of Aragite Town."

In a flash Mei was there. The town was actually quiet and tranquil. No one really paid Mei any mind as she teleported in. The population definitely had decreased since all the Cipher agents had been run out. A few people who didn't recognize Mei smiled and waved warmly. It was a friendly little town without Cipher around.

"Rebels come out!" Mei shouted. The call echoed throughout the town, startling a great many people. Deafening silence followed for a good few minutes. Until a vaguely familiar face Walked up.

"Well ya got our attention blondie." Cary was the first to approach, "So what brings Cipher a knockin' without any backup?" He was cocky, but still a bit confused. Which had him on edge. Was Mei just the first in a long line of assaults? Why did they decide now to take back the city?

"I'm here to reclaim Aragite." Mei stared Cary down. Recalling their last encounter at the Realgam Tower.

"Uhh… by yourself? I mean not for nothin, but there's like five of us and only one of you. Plus, the others in town can kinda battle too." Cary honestly didn't think it was a fair fight so he kind of wasn't too excited by the idea.

"Mei?" Wes saw her and started to panic. "What are you doing here?"

"Your girlfriend wants to reclaim the whole damn town herself." Cary rolled his eyes. Clearly some sort of farce on Mei's part. Still this didn't seem like her usual methods. At least not when the odds were completely against her.

"All by yourself?" Wes chuckled. "Sorry, but where did you suddenly get the idea that you could do this all on your own?"

Mei called out her Slowking. "I was able to beat a legendary Pokemon is Cipher's simulations so you guys shouldn't be an issue." Mei justified.

"Wow, you hear that Wes. Dis chick beat a program. We don't stand a chance." Cary laughed aloud. "Look, I'm sure you're feeling proud of this, but what are you doing here?"

"Yeah Mei, this is a losing battle. You're smart enough to know that. This isn't like you at all." Wes acting like the authority on her.

"You don't know me! I am doing this, because some has to do something! I'm tired of sitting around while Cipher's slowly crumbling!" Mei's frustration was growing by the second. Her anger was very misplaced in her mind.

"What's going on?" Zephyrine walked up with Ebony.

"My, my, if it isn't Cipher's attack dog. What bring you here today dear?" Ebony did not expect this, but she wasn't really phased by it either.

"I will take you all down." Mei growled.

"With what? Six Pokemon against our twenty-four. Thirty counting Takumi's?" Cary chuckled again.

"That's enough Cary." A deep, but calm voice quieted Cary. He walked up to Mei and the rest with a weary look. "So we finally get to meet, Mei. It's been too long." He said with almost a smile.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

"You know who I am. I'm sure someone's told you about me." Takumi wasn't naïve. He knew Cipher kept her in the loop. Question was, how much?

"You're Takumi, head of the rebellion." It was fairly obvious. His name had starting coming up a lot recently. "Some say you're a traitor." Mei glared at him.

"Is that all they've told you? I guess it makes sense. Probably don't want anything to do with my contributions. Most of them anyway. Fine with me. I let that part of my life go when Cipher ruined my life." He looked off in the distance as he spoke. "You've become quite the trainer. A beautiful, young woman as well. You and Haruka both."

Mei was taken aback by this, "What the hell are you talking about you creep?"

Takumi gave a weary chuckle. "So they kept you in the dark about that too. What do you know about the Cipher Initiates Program?"

"It was the program set up to raise me and my friends. What do you know about it?" Mei turned the question around on him.

"Everything. Ein will never tell you this, but you were the original subject. Cipher had no intention of continuing beyond watching your development." Takumi shed some light on the program. Information Mei was not expecting.

"That doesn't answer my question. Did you help Ein in the program?" Mei demanded further.

Takumi shook his head. "I was the one who started it. I was there the day you were born Mei. I personally saw to your initiation and monitor your growth. I quit not long after. The project ended there. Until Ein started it back up. Haruka and Ryoko were not a part of the original goal."

Mei growled, "I don't want to hear that traitor's name. I don't even want to think about him right now."

Takumi's eyes widened. "Ryoko turned traitor?"

Mei stammered, "I said too much. I'm here to battle you."

Takumi all of a sudden walked up to her and placed a hand on her head. Musing up her hair. "You're just like your old man was. The spitting image of your mother too."

Mei froze. "My… parents?" Mei felt a weird yearning. "You knew my parents?"

Takumi scoffed, "They didn't even tell you about your poor mother? Have you ever looked in your personal record?"

Mei glared back at Takumi, "Of course I have."

"The one's they don't keep on display. The ones hidden in Cipher's mainframe for admin's eyes only?" Takumi figured their database architecture isn't the same as it once was, but with enough digging she could find it.

"Sounds to me like you want me to snoop where my nose doesn't belong." Mei wasn't going to play fetch so easily.

"I'm not telling you to do anything." Takumi explained plainly. "Just know there is a lot Cipher isn't telling you. If you knew the truths behind their actions, the _whole_ truths. You would leave them like Ryoko did. Cipher's history is soaked in more blood than you could imagine. Cipher took my family from me. That's why I fight."

Mei wasn't sure how to respond. She knew Cipher was corrupt. That didn't bother her. Hearing Takumi's resolve. That was what bothered her. She could almost sympathize with him. She would fight tooth and nail against anyone who would do the same to those she saw as her family. "Why did Ryoko betray us?" Her voice waived as she began to shake.

"You'd have to ask him that question. What was his last mission before disappearing?" Takumi posed the question.

"Stealing Mewtwo's data. Maybe all that exposure to Kanto got to him? That's why he tried stopping us when Haruka captured Lugia." Mei wondered aloud.

Takumi didn't respond. He was very shaken by this news that Cipher now had potentially two legendary Pokemon in their arsenal, but that wasn't his concern right now. Without a word her put his arms around her. One hand soothingly rubbing her back. The other, holding the back of her head as he pressed it against his chest. "Go home Mei." He said quietly.

Amazingly, Mei agreed. With a soft nod she pulled out a Pokeball and called out Abra. She stepped back and looked Takumi in the eye. "Teleport." Abra teleported them both away in a flash. No final words or resistance on either side.

Ebony walked up with a smirk, "Good job planting the seeds of doubt Takumi."

"I just told her what she wanted to hear." He turned and walked away. Not bothering to address the situation or new information that had come to light.

Big things were in motion. Takumi could sense the winds of change picking up. He had a new objective, find Ryoko. If anyone was going to be instrumental in Cipher's downfall it would be him.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. We learned a bit more about the history of Cipher and Takumi's involvement. A lot of things are slowly coming to a head, and it will be climatic I can guarantee you all that.


	38. Chapter 36: Shadow of Doubt

Chapter 36: Shadow of Doubt

It was a new day in the Orre Region. A day not too much different from any other. Tensions were growing as Cipher so pompously announced they capture Lugia and were going to use it as a shining example of Cipher's true capabilities.

"Sir, what do you propose we do?" One man asked his leader who sat confidently at his desk.

"Nothing. Cipher will likely keep in the headquarters for experimentation and deploy it in case of emergencies." Sinclair was a calculated man; he wasn't fazed by Cipher's haughty display of power. "Only the foolish flaunt the full extent of their arsenal. So it's what Cipher isn't showing us that concerns me."

"We need more reconnaissance sir. Men and women on the inside." One of Sinclair's men suggested.

"Indeed, I was considering deploying some of our new recruits back out into the field. The agents we captured can claim they escaped and go on about their days as OLG double agents." Sinclair had a plan in mind already.

"And what about the rebellion? They gained a slight upper hand when they took Aragite Town." This was troubling news for them, despite the fact that any shots against Cipher ultimately helped the people.

"Let Takumi have his victory. It will be short lived once Cipher decides they want it back. I can almost guarantee at least a handful of those town's people are double agents for Cipher." Sinclair was clearly not worried about Takumi or his fellow rebels.

"How should we proceed then, sir?" He patiently awaited orders.

"For now, we need more recruits. Head to The Under, now that Agnol and the Deep have been exposed as Cipher property they have suspended operation. So the bottom feeders have run to The Under as a temporary safe haven." Sinclair stepped out of his office into a massive complex of piping, refineries, and abandoned factories. Once used to refine steel and other metals. The facility had long since been abandoned. So it was perfect for the Orre Liberation Group.

Other groups didn't take too kindly to Cipher's frivolous display of prowess. "Sir!" A Snagem agent approached Gonzap.

"I already know. To think they wouldn't even tell _me_." Gonzap was livid that Cipher kept him and the rest of his men out of the loop. Worst of all this made his previous goals far more difficult. He picked up a walkie-talkie. "Haruka, please report in."

Several moments of silence followed, "I'm here." She sounded quite depressed. A notice had been put out across the region informing others of Ryoko's betrayal. Haruka was taking this about as well as Gonzap had expected her too. "What information do you want?"

Gonzap sighed, "I want to know how you are doing. Your well-being is still more important than any information I could gather." He said sincerely.

More silence followed. Finally, a broken voice relied back. "I'm hurting. I'm in so much pain and I don't know why." She sobbed.

Gonzap spoke to himself, "_Poor girl's heart probably in ribbons._" He pressed the talk button. "I know you're under a lot of stress, but I need you to hang in there."

"No, I'm in actual pain. Cramping, upset stomach, vomiting, dizziness, nausea, and coughing up blood. I keep taking the meditation the doctors prescribe me, but it's not doing anything. I don't know what's going on. They're not telling me anything! I'm frightened and all alone!" Haruka began crying uncontrollable. Her emotions were a completely mess too. She didn't even need to add that to her list of symptoms. This was not psychosomatic no matter what anyone said.

Gonzap was not prepared for this. Still, he kept strong in his resolve. "Stay strong. I'm guessing they took you off the Mewtwo project?"

"Yeah, it's nearly complete. Ein's practically counting the moments. It's growth and development has been astounding, still creeps me out." Haruka calmed down a little.

"I see, good to know. Just take care of yourself, Haruka. Everything will be fine." Gonzap assured her.

"I wish I could believe that." She said weakly as she put the walkie away and curled up in a ball on her bed.

Another agent in the research lab was busy raising hell. "Why won't you let me see her?" Mei complained. Haruka was in dire straits and no one was letting her in.

"Ein's orders ma'am." One agents informed her.

Mei knew she couldn't fight it, but it still annoyed her. She walked off in a huff and headed for the exit. When she rounded the corner however, she quickly ducked down another hallway and made a B-line for Ein's office. She figured if she bugged him enough, then he'd let her see Haruka.

Mei approached Ein's door and started to knock when she overheard Ein yelling. "I don't care what you think, I'm handling this!"

Ein was in a call with Miror B. "Testy, testy. I know you _say _you've got this situation handled, but we have one naughty agent who has gone rogue. As well as one out of commission. Poor girl, she still doesn't even know does she?" Miror B. shook his head. His condescension was palpable.

"And she never will find out. I'll keep giving her the medication until it passes. I can't believe I even considered trusting you with this information if I knew this was how childish you would be." Ein sneered.

"Oh calm your pretty little head Ein, I'm merely saying Haruka will probably put two-and-two together and then what do you plan on doing?" Miror B. raised a brow.

Ein slammed the table, "She won't find out, all the doctors have explicit orders not to talk about Haruka's pregnancy. The medicine will induce a miscarriage and we'll move on."

Mei covered her mouth and quickly looked around to make sure no one caught her snooping. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Haruka was pregnant and Ein knew? What's worse, he was trying to kill the child before Haruka even knew.

"You know she may defect too though. Our little Mei would gladly follow suit." Miror B. claimed, but Mei would never betray Cipher. At least, she wouldn't have. This news shook her to the core. "We've done well to keep her away from Takahata and his rebellion at the very least." Little did Miror B. know.

"Mei's loyal to a fault. She is nothing like her brother. As for her father, we just need to keep that information to ourselves until we can use it against Takahata." Ein said confidently.

Brother? Father? Mei was sure she heard that right. Ein called Ryoko her brother and Takahata her father. She wasn't sure why the man who called himself Takumi was referred to as Takahata. Mei couldn't hear anymore. She ran away as fast and she could.

She ran through the halls, out of the base, and past the fences. She stopped to catch her breath and contemplate. She had been lied to all these years, but she could understand why Cipher didn't want her to know who her father was. Especially since he spearheaded the rebellion. She suddenly had a whole new set of moral quandaries about that. Mei froze, Takumi said his family was taken from him and that he started the Cipher Initiates Program. He used his own daughter for the program.

No doubt he'd intended Cipher to be peace keepers and when he ultimately left they probably did everything in their power to keep Mei away from him. She still couldn't get over the fact that Ryoko was her brother. Her actual, flesh and blood sibling. She always loved him like one, but this changed everything.

What Ein was doing to Haruka was unforgivable however. She could overlook the secrets and deceit, but deliberately hiding the fact that Haruka was pregnant and trying to cause a miscarriage. Mei rubbed her own stomach thinking about how painful experiencing something like that must be. What was worse is that Ryoko probably had no idea either. He betrayed Cipher and they are trying to do this to his and Haruka's child. Mei had no doubt that Ryoko was obviously the father. No one would think otherwise.

Mei had to save her. She had to save Haruka. What could she do though? Mei was a Cipher elite, but she was just one of many. Even if she got Haruka and ran, where would they go? How far could they get before being stopped? An infinite number of questions and scenarios played in her mind. It was making Mei's head spin.

She finally stopped and cleared her mind. She teleported back to Phenac City and went right for the sim. Aiden was waiting patiently. "Hey Mei, I got everything ready for you. You said you wanted to battle with Mewtwo today? Big news, I got Lugia's data in the sim too."

Mei put on a front. "Awesome, load it up. I want to battle Lugia with Mewtwo." She cracked her knuckles.

"Alright, Lugia and Mewtwo are both super powerful though. I'll warn you now, Mewtwo might not listen to you." Aiden worked the algorithm to best simulate a Pokemon's loyalty. It wasn't a flawless representation, but it gave the AI more lifelike personality.

"Good to know. I'll beat Lugia in one shot." Mei said confidently.

The battle sim started. Mewtwo stood in front of Mei, this time as her ally. Their opponent stood opposite them. Flying stationary and ready to battle. Aiden projected his voice. "Mewtwo's moves are set to Psystrike, Aura Sphere, Calm Mind, and Shadow Ball for the purposes of this battle. Pressure for an ability and a Timid natured. Lugia… well, I'll let you find that out." He laughed.

"I'm not going to lose. Mewtwo use Calm Mind." Mei instructed. Mewtwo looked back at her, disgruntled and charged in with a Shadow Ball. "Listen to me damnit!"

Mewtwo was not and as a result Lugia fired back with an Ice Beam. Mewtwo was fast, but Lugia still clipped Mewtwo's leg with the Ice Beam, freezing it solid and weighing it down. Giving Lugia ample opportunity to dodge out of the way.

"Mewtwo, I said use Calm Mind." It still refused to listen to Mei. Attack with Shadow Ball again, missing again. Mei balled her fist and shouted at Mewtwo. "If you want to beat Lugia then you will listen to me!" Its eyes darted back at Mei angrily. She met Mewtwo's gaze with a powerful glare of her own. "Use. Calm Mind." She very clearly spelled it out for the defiant Pokemon. Mewtwo paused and used Calm Mind. "Good now use Aura Sphere." Mewtwo looked at Mei with open disapproval. "Trust me." Mewtwo trusted Mei, though reluctantly.

Mewtwo flew into the air with its psychic powers and fired an Aura Sphere at Lugia. There was virtually no damage as its energy washed over Lugia, harmlessly. Mei knew it wouldn't do much damage, but it did less than she expected. "So it has Multiscale. Shadow Ball now that it won't be weakened by Lugia's ability!" Mei had heard a rumor that Lugia's ability was very unique among Pokemon. While the dust settled and Lugia recovered, Mewtwo flew up and blasted Lugia with a Shadow Ball. The miasma of energy formed a ball that hit Lugia right in the stomach. Sending it hurtling back.

Lugia corrected itself with its wings and shot an Aeroblast at Mewtwo in response. "Another Calm Mind!" Mewtwo crossed its arms to absorb some of the impact and boosted his offenses more. "Now Psystrike!"

Lugia followed up with an Ancient Power. Mewtwo flew through the air with fists full of energy. Once in range Mewtwo fired the bizarre beam of psychic energy at the Ancient Power and obliterated the rocks. "Shadow Ball!" The added boost of power and type advantage were crucial. Mewtwo knew this was the best option without a doubt. Lugia wasn't taking it lying down. Firing another Ice Beam at Mewtwo.

The attack blasted right through Shadow Ball and hit Mewtwo direct. Now its torso and leg were both incased in ice. Lugia roared as electricity sparked off of it. "Mewtwo used Aura Sphere on yourself." Mewtwo's eyes widened. Not from shock, but amazement. Mewtwo followed Mei's orders and blasted itself with the attack before lunging out of the way. Mewtwo thankfully was really fast otherwise Lugia's Thunder would have done serious damage. "Shadow Ball!" Mei gave one last desperate order while another Thunder was building up. Mewtwo flew through air like a blur and appeared in front of Lugia with a devastating Shadow Ball to the head.

Lugia reeled back and fired Thunder blindly. Completely missing the target before spiraling and collapsing to the ground. Lugia was done. Mewtwo wouldn't have won if it weren't for their teamwork and quick wits. It was Mei's strategy making coupled with Mewtwo's incredible agility that won that battle.

"Well damn, if I hadn't seen it for myself I wouldn't have believed it." Aiden clapped. "Miror B. will be bouncing off the walls when he hears about this."

Mei stepped out of the sim, "Go ahead and tell him, I want to practice more. I can definitely do better. Your A.I. is pretty smart, if felt like the real deal." Mei had to give Aiden proper praise. He was always good to her. He was a good man.

"Alright, you know what you're doing. I'm gonna get some lunch while I'm at it. Don't work too hard now." Aiden stepped out, giving Mei full control of his system.

"_Now's my chance_." She rapidly typed away. She wasn't nearly as skilled as Haruka, but after a bit of trial and error she found what she was looking for. "_Mei, there I am. Now what do they have on me_?"

She read her file. Agent Mei, age: twenty-one. Standard stuff, but there was so much more. Mission logs, daily rituals, and dietary plans. As well as a thorough health index. What she wanted to see was her history. "This is it. Family. Father: Takahata." She clicked on a link to his file. It pulled up a current picture of Takumi confirming what she heard. "Status: rogue agent. Capture is top priority."

She read on and saw his relationships. His daughter, Mei. His son, Ryoko. Mei saw one more link and reluctantly clicked on it. "Megumi. Deceased. Complications during delivery of Ryoko. Overdosed, deemed liable to future projects with Ryoko and Mei. They killed her!" Mei was mortified. Her own mother was killed by Cipher.

Mei dug deeper. She had to uncover everything dark and heinous Cipher never told her. She learned all about the Houndoom and Darkrai. The endless amounts of blood spilled in Cipher's name. "The reeducation camps." She paused and read the reports. "Death camps." Her face turned pale. She never paid any mind to the countless people taken into reeducation. She never saw any familiar faces of once convicts. There was her answer, everyone sent to the so-called 'reeducation camps' was executed on the spot.

Mei felt a chill run down her spine. Suddenly, everything had a lot more clarity. Cipher's ideals for the futures were beyond corrupt. She never believed herself to be noble, but what she had her hands in were nothing short of inhuman. She couldn't be a part of this anymore. She carefully closed all the windows and booted back up the sim.

"I swear will make Cipher pay. I may never be forgiven, but I will make them answer for every one of their crimes." Mei declared and prepared to put her plan into motion. She would need to save Haruka too.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. The story has uncovered some of Cipher's darkest secrets. Things will all be coming to a head next chapter. On a brighter note, today marks the ten year anniversary of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl! As well as the anniversary of the Physical/Special Split. A mechanic I'm surprised we went so long without.


	39. Chapter 37: Born in Shadows

Chapter 37: Born in Shadows, Awakened in Light

A few days had passed. Mei was feeling more and more on edge. She'd been practicing on the sim with Mewtwo endlessly it felt like. They told her the day before to be ready. She was ready. Mei was very ready. She had her plan worked out and everything. She was remiss that she couldn't speak to Haruka, but that was the next step in the plan.

Mei received a call on her PD*A, it was Ein. "Hello?"

"Everything is ready. Meet us at Gateon Port. We will go to Citadark Island from there." Ein hung up.

Mei took a deep breath and grabbed everything she'd need. Her Pokemon, uniform, and supplies. An agent met her outside and teleported her to Gateon Port where Ein was waiting. He said nothing, but smiled when he saw her. A fake, deceiving smile. He was happy to see her. His tool, that's what Mei was to him. She smiled and silently boarded the vessel.

The harsh tides and fierce rain pounded the vessel, but the boat was designed to navigate through the extreme weather. Citadark's barriers weren't its only defense. Getting through the barriers was one thing, it was getting to them that was the real test. No man could swim there, even Pokemon knew to stay away. Citadark Island was more than an island; it was a volcano. Master Greevil and Es Cade had a fortress built upon the volcano. It wasn't seismically active so there was no risk of an eruption. Making it the perfect geothermal energy source for Cipher.

The boat docked on the island and Mei was met with surprising fanfare. Almost all the higher ups were there to greet Mei. Greevil, Es Cade, Ardos, Eldes, Nascour, Miror B., Dakim, and Lady Venus were all there to welcome her.

"Welcome Mei, we're pleased to have you join us for this momentous occasion. Now if you'll follow us, we will show you the results of Cipher's hard work and prowess." Greevil said with overwhelming glee.

"Thank you all for this opportunity." Mei said politely as she followed them in. She was getting nervous now. She would have been nervous regardless, this was a huge moment for all of them. She could see Miror B. was overwhelmingly proud of Mei's accomplishments. She almost felt bad. He'd never done wrong by her, she looked up to him. What he and everyone else had done was what bothered her. She could no longer turn a blind eye to this.

They stepped into the main stadium of the base. A location where members trained, fought, and honed their skills to a point. Cipher's most elite agents resided on Citadark Island. The all gathered in the middle and raised up a container through the floor. It was Mewtwo. Cipher's perfect experiment.

Slowly the container opened revealing the Pokemon inside. Mei froze, "What is that?" She didn't recognize the Pokemon. It looked like Mewtwo, but it's body was gray as Tungsten with a sharp, jagged fragment sticking up out of its upper left abdominal. It pulsated and glowed a bright orange, as did the tip of its tail.

Ein laughed, "Do you like it? We made some modifications. This is Shadow Mewtwo, Experiment XD000, a perfect Shadow Pokemon. A Shadow Type Pokemon."

Mei hesitated, "Shadow Type?"

Ein nodded, "Yes a whole new type of Pokemon. Immune to Normal Types. Resistant to Dark and Psychic. While unfortunately weak to Electric Ghost, and other Shadow Types and Shadow Pokemon Moves. Though it makes up for this by having the ability I dubbed Closed Heart. With this ability, it's special attacking power increases every time it is hit by a Shadow Type move. Speaking of, Shadow Mewtwo is equipped its own unique attacks it created. Shadow Cut, a Shadow Type Psycho Cut. Shadow Fall, a Shadow Type Waterfall. Shadow Blast and Shadow Down." Ein had quite a lot to explain about their newest creation.

"Honestly, this is not quite what I expected." Mei was surprised by this, and more than a little disturbed.

"Wake it up and introduce it to its masters." Greevil ordered. Ein decompressed the chamber and opened it up. Shadow Mewtwo's eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the light. It floated out of its container and looked at itself, then at the group. Particularly Mei.

"Hello Shadow Mewtwo, my name is Mei. This is Team Cipher, your creators." Mei said calmly. Shadow Mewtwo stared calmly as it scanned its surroundings. The open sky above the stadium called to it, but the barrier was in its way. "Will you listen to me?" Mei asked politely.

Shadow Mewtwo paused and looked back down at Mei. The small woman it only just met. It was reluctant, but nodded. Deeming her worthy enough.

Mei smiled, "Thank you. Let's test this power out." She pointed up to the sky. "Shadow Blast." Shadow Mewtwo complied and fired a huge discharge of black and dark purple energy right at the barrier. Cutting through it like tissue paper.

"Mei what was that about?" Miror B. panicked as Mei recklessly displayed Shadow Mewtwo's power.

A flash of lightning illuminated the sky. "Thank you for this opportunity. I will use Shadow Mewtwo to take down Cipher once and for all." Mei menacingly declared.

"What?" Greevil shouted. "You ungrateful brat!"

"Seize her!" Es Cade ordered.

"Use Shadow Cut." Shadow Mewtwo fired a sharp blade of shadowy energy at the ground where Mei stood, stopping Eldes and Ardos in their tracks.

"Why Mei?" Miror B. pleaded. "You are destined to become one of us. An Admin. A ruler of this organization."

"Like my brother was? As well as our father before us?" Mei's face twisted to pure disgust.

"I'm not sure what you think you know, but I can assure you it's a lie." Nascour stepped forward. His serpentine hair and soulless eyes used to scare Mei, but now all she felt was anger.

"So I didn't over hear Miror B. and Ein talking about Ryoko being my brother, or Takahata being my father?" Mei snarled. "Shadow Blast again." Shadow Mewtwo annihilated more of the barrier.

"When did you hear this?" Ein's heart sank like a stone.

"Right after you admitted to hiding the fact that Haruka is pregnant." Mei let it all out.

"Haruka is pregnant?" Greevil was seeing red at this point. He was beyond furious.

"I guess you were waiting for that medication to induce a miscarriage so you could sweep that under the rug." Mei let Ein have it.

Lady Venus looked to Ein, mortified. "Ein-"

"Shut up! You conniving little bitch!" Ein called out a Starmie and Crobat

"Shadow Mewtwo use Shadow Cut on Starmie." Mei remained calm.

"Bite, Crobat!" Ein wasn't going to let her escape.

"Once I'm done here I'm going to save Haruka and her baby from you monsters!" Mei called out an Altaria. Shadow Mewtwo took Starmie down without even trying and avoided Crobat like it was nothing.

Mei hopped on Altaria and began flying away. "Mei, I'm begging you! You can still turn back, but the second you leave this base we can't protect you! You'll become a traitor!" Miror B. called out desperately.

"Then I'll become a traitor! I don't care! I will liberate Orre and do right by all the people I've wronged. I will see you all in Hell!" She flew off with Shadow Mewtwo close behind.

Ein pulled out his PD*A. "Fortify the research lab. We have a-" Ein paused. "Code red emergency? The lab had been infiltrated?" Ein's eyes widened. He dropped to his knees as his PD*A fell.

Moments earlier. The barriers to Citadark Island fell. Alarms rang out at every facility, including in a remote headquarters in Eclo Canyon.

"Sir we have a major report!" Fuzzy footage of Shadow Mewtwo running rampant showed up.

"Mobilize all our men." Gonzap stood up and ran out of his office.

"Sir most of our men aren't in uniform." The agent informed him.

"I don't care if they're dragged out of the showers! We will never get a better opportunity than this. I want every agent mobilized yesterday!" Gonzap grabbed the research lab's floor plans and all the information they needed.

He stood before his troops. Formation, strategies, and planning be damned. "Alright men we have all studied these floor plans, this is not a test. We are going in. The goal, neutralize their defense and clear a path for me to acquire the target." Gonzap ordered.

"Sir, yes sir!" His men, as disorganized as they were, followed his orders without question.

The all teleported to the research lab and immediately put their plan into motion. Cipher agents were overrun in seconds. Cipher had the superior numbers, but Snagem's element of surprise and complete knowledge of the lab's layout giving them the upper hand. Gonzap and his men quickly overran everyone in their path. Ein nowhere in sight, this could not have been easier for them.

Gonzap navigated the halls perfectly, fighting off anyone who got in his way with his Pokemon. He was easily as strong as any admin in battle so the low-level grunts Cipher had were nothing to him. He came upon a door and threw it open.

Haruka nearly jumped out of her bed, but she was in no condition to do much of anything. "Gonzap? What are you doing here?"

He walked up to Haruka and picked her up out of bed. Carrying her in his arms. "We're going."

"Woah, what are you doing?" Haruka freaked out when Gonzap took her.

"You're coming with us, where you belong. I'm not going to sit around while you are suffering." Gonzap regrouped with his men and just as quickly teleported out.

Not long after that Mei arrived on the scene, "We're landing down there." She looked more closely and saw the chaos and disarray. "What is going on down there?"

Mei landed and started asking around. Everyone was so concerned with the recent attack that none of them knew about Mei's betrayal. A lot of them didn't even pay Shadow Mewtwo any mind. "What is going on here?"

"Mei, we were attacked by Team Snagem. They suddenly teleported in and bombarded us." The disheveled agent explained.

"Why? What were they after?" She asked urgently. Fearing the worst immediately.

"I'm sorry, they took Haruka." He regretted to inform her.

Mei's heart sank, she quickly jumped back onto Altaria and flew off at top speed with Shadow Mewtwo towards Eclo Canyon. Mei would obliterate their base if it meant getting Haruka out safe.

The sun was setting fast, but Mei wasn't concerned about time. She needed to find Haruka. Before long she was in front of Team Snagem's HQ. "Agent Mei." One of the guards panicked.

"Where is Haruka?" She stepped off Altaria and stepped forward. Shadow Mewtwo looming behind her.

"She is under our protection now." He stood firm as instructed.

"You have exactly five second to let me in or bring her out, or I will blow this whole base into the stratosphere with you in it!" She snarled like a wild beast.

"That won't be necessary." Gonzap stepped out holding Haruka. She was weak and very, very tired.

"Haruka!" Mei run up to her. She put her arms around her friend. "Thank god you're alright."

"Mei, what is going on? Why is Shadow Mewtwo here?" She asked wearily.

"You defected, is that correct?" Gonzap asked.

Mei nodded and glared at him, "She is coming with me."

"No she is not." Gonzap stood firm.

"I will fight you and you will lose. Haruka needs a doctor." Mei explained. "I won't keep her in the clutches of scum like you."

"Sounds to me like the pot's calling the kettle black. Let me explain. We are seeking out the best doctors in the region to help Haruka. We are going to protect her from Team Cipher. Something you might have trouble with on your own." Gonzap explained calmly.

"I'm not abandoning her and leaving her with you." Mei was very protective, especially now.

"You are more than welcome to help us fight back against Cipher." Gonzap offered.

"No, I'm doing this my way." Mei stubbornly objected.

"Very well, then you may see her whenever you please, but I ask you don't interfere with our work. You may not feel the same way, but we are on the same side." Gonzap surprised Mei.

"Mei, please. We can trust Gonzap." Haruka said weakly.

"Haruka, I have to tell you something important. You're pregnant. The medication Ein was giving you was to cause a miscarriage." Tears welled up in Mei's eyes. "They wanted to take your baby's life from you."

Haruka looked terrified. "What? Why would Ein do that?" She thought about it. She hated admitting it, but it all made sense. Ein would do something like this to preserve the sanctity of his mission and program. "So these were all symptoms of Hyperemesis Gravidarum." Haruka diagnosed. The symptoms all lined up.

"What?" Mei asked.

"Very serious morning sickness. God, I was so stupid for not realizing it sooner." Haruka mentally berated herself.

"We will get you all the medical help you need." Gonzap promised He looked to Mei too. He wanted her to know he was genuinely concerned.

"You're in good hands then. I'm going to find Ryoko now." Mei had her next objective already in mind.

Tears fell down Haruka's face. "He probably hates me after what I said to him."

"You know Ryoko could never feel anything but love for you." Mei said optimistically.

"Still, I said horrible things to him. I don't hate him." She began crying. "Mei, when you find him, tell him I love him. I'm sorry and I love him so, so much. I'm so scared. I need him. I need both of you." Haruka couldn't keep it together any longer.

"I will find him. Haruka, you are my closest friend, I love you and I want to be there for you." Mei hugged Haruka.

"Thank you, I love you too Mei. You are very important to me too." Haruka always loved Mei liked an older sister the same way Ryoko did. The three of them always promised if they were together, then everything would work out in the end.

Now, they were all separated, taking different paths, but Mei knew one thing for sure. Those paths would all meet someday. "I have to go. Gonzap, you better take good care of her, or I'm going to kick your ass." Mei wiped the tears from her eyes with a smile.

Gonzap grinned, "Her safety is my number one priority. Now go, Cipher will probably be breathing down my neck any second now."

Mei nodded and flew off. This time to the south. She had one last loose end to tie up before her search could begin. It was late at night by this point. Mei saw faint lights in the distance. "This is the last stop Shadow Mewtwo."

Shadow Mewtwo nodded and slowly descended with her. The townspeople were a bit more alarmed this time. Mei's face was now well known to the citizens of Aragite. "Where is Takumi?" Mei asked calmly.

Wes walked up prepared this time. "Looking to take back the town with your new monstrosity?" He sneered and gazed at Shadow Mewtwo. It lowered its head in shame. It was a monstrosity. Shadow Mewtwo knew this, it was smart enough to know it was a twisted imitation. A copy of a copy.

"I'm not here for you, Wes." Mei said with her same calm expression.

"That's a first." He wasn't buying it.

"Wes, stand down." Takumi walked up behind him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "So you've come to see me?" Takumi smiled.

"I've defected from Cipher." Mei said blatantly. "I stole Shadow Mewtwo and made sure Haruka was safe."

"So why are you here?" Takumi's question was completely rhetorical, but he still wanted to hear it come from her mouth.

"To talk to my father." Mei walked up to Takumi. "A man named Takahata. I saw everything. You started the Cipher Initiate program and used me as your test subject."

"All I wanted was the best life for you, Mei. You have to believe that." Takumi sighed.

"I do, somewhere along the way Cipher became the monster it is today. They separated us, killed my mother, and took my brother too. You lost everything that day. Your wife, Megumi. Your son, Ryoko. As well as your daughter, me." She slowly wrapped her arms around Takumi. "Dad."

Tears rolled down Takumi's eyes. "Mei, my dear Mei. I can't begin to apologize for everything you had to go through. Not being there for you and your brother has haunted me every day." Takumi held Mei tight.

Wes couldn't believe what he was seeing. Mei, his mortal enemy, was Takumi's daughter. All this time, all the pain they caused one another.

She broke the hug and turned to Wes, "I don't expect you to ever forgive me, but I need to thank you for helping me back in the mines. I will do right by all the things I did to you and your friends." Mei promised. Wes was at a loss for words.

Mei turned back to Takumi, "I'm going to find Ryoko. I want you to have Shadow Mewtwo. It will protect you from Cipher. Lugia won't stand a chance against it." Mei offered.

"Mei. Thank you. I will make Cipher's ultimate weapon the instrument of their downfall." He looked at Shadow Mewtwo. "Well? What do you say?" Shadow Mewtwo gave paused, but slowly moved to Takumi's side.

"I'm glad it trusts you." Mei smiled.

Takumi looked into the surrounding woods, he saw a small hint of white peeking out. "I had a feeling it would. Good luck finding him. What will you do from there?"

"We'll come back, probably meet up with Haruka first and see what we should do from there." Mei didn't have much more than that planned for the time being.

"You're more than welcome to join the rebellion. We need more powerful trainers like you three." Takumi proposed.

"We might, right now Haruka is working with Team Snagem. I have no interest in working with Sinclair and the Orre Liberation Group though." Mei was not fond of his methods.

"Same here. I wish you luck." He gave her one last hug before Mei flew off. Her destination was Kanto.

Other things were brewing under the surface as well. "Let us not dance around the matter at hand. We suffered severe losses today. The Cipher Initiate program is now a complete and utter failure. We lost Shadow Mewtwo. As well as got doped by that monkey Gonzap." The tension in the room as palpable. Greevil was angrier than anyone had ever seen.

"Sir, we still have Lugia." Ein offered as a consolation.

"Silence!" Greevil's voice echoed through the room. "You have failed us most of all Ein. _Your _program failed. _Your _experiment escaped. _Your _facility was ransacked. _Your _data was breached. _Your _agent was taken from us. There is no excusing these failings."

Ein hung his head, "I'm sorry Master Greevil. Haruka had to be fraternizing with Gonzap. That's the only explanation."

"Let us not even begin with this whole pregnancy issue." Es Cade brought up.

Greevil glared down at Ein. "You are relieved of your position." He said coldly.

Ein's eyes widened. "No! Please, give me another chance. We can still proceed with Experiment XD001. We have Lugia!"

Greevil snapped his fingers. Eldes and Ardos took Ein by the arms and escorted him forcefully out. Him shouting desperately the whole time.

"Poor Ein." Lady Venus felt bad for him.

"So much of this was his fault. It's to be expected." Dakim said indifferently.

Greevil glared, "Do not think for a second that you three will be getting off scot-free. The way I see it, you all failed us. You all had a hand in their growth. Especially you Miror B. and Dakim." He pointed out.

They all lowered their heads. "Yes sir, we understand." They said in unison.

"You will all be reprimanded later. Get out." Greevil gave them a cold send off.

The winds of change were blowing. Scattering the three all in different directions. Now Mei had one goal in mind, reuniting with her brother and putting a stop to Cipher's evil plans once and for all.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Where to even begin? This was a long time coming and i couldn't be happier with how it turned out. The bigger picture is starting to come into focus. We now had Cipher, Snagem, OLG, and the rebellion. All with their own agendas and plans to either control or free Orre. With Mei, Ryoko, and Haruka caught in the middle of these warring factions. The war games are about to begin.


	40. Halloween Special 2016

It was an all hallows eve in Orre and Cipher agents from all over were excited to for the festive fun. Cobwebs on the walls, skeletons hanging in the halls, and bowls upon bowls of candy for trick or treaters. Three agents were getting into the festive spirit of the season.

Ryo hung decorations all over the wall, while Haruka decorated the door. Mei looked around with a smile, but something felt off. "Wait. Why the hell are we back in Orre?" She said with a surprising outburst.

"What are you talking about Mei, it's Halloween. We're doing what we do every Halloween." Ryo explained to the confused Mei.

"Yeah, it's a time honored tradition. Remember last year?" Haruka reminded her.

"I remember the Grinch and Scrooge McDuck trying to scare us for some reason. I'm still confused by that." Mei expressed her disapproval. "That's not the point!" She boldly exclaimed. "You're not supposed to be here." She pointed at Ryo. "You're with Team Snagem right now and I'm supposed to be heading to Kanto to find Ryoko." Mei was clearly delusional. "Oh god, the narrator is back!"

"Mei, you're worrying us. Maybe you should go lie down." Ryo suggested.

Mei thought that was a good idea. "Oh no I didn't. I'm perfectly sane. I'm just trapped in some weird non-canon Halloween special again." She had lost it. "Shut up!"

The three her a sudden knocking on the door. "Strange, it's a little early for trick-or-treaters." Haruka went to answer the door.

"I can take one guess." Mei rolled her eyes.

Haruka open the door to great surprise. "Well if it isn't the rebellion." She said with a smile.

"Trick or treat." Cary said with a grin.

"And what might you be?" Haruka said as she put a few pieces of candy in his bag.

"I'm Gumshoos obviously." Cary's costume bore a striking resemblance to Alola Pokemon.

"You can't reference that!" Mei shouted. "X and Y still aren't even canon yet. You can't just throw in Sun and Moon!" Mei ranted and raved like a mad woman.

"Is she alright?" Ebony was a bit concerned.

"Mei, you're scaring us. Maybe you should lay down." Haruka kindly invited in their guests. Cary, Ebony, Wes, Takumi, and Zephyrine.

Wes and Zephyrine walked over to Mei. "So… This is happening again." Wes sighed.

"I'm confused." Zeph wasn't entirely sure what was going on.

"Join the club." Mei went to the fridge and grabbed some alcohol. She had a feeling she'd need it.

They hear yet another knocking this time. "More trick-or-treaters?" Haruka answered again. "Oh good, you all arrived just in time."

Three more individuals join the party. A young man with messy brown hair and wide smile. Another around his age wearing a white cap. Finally, a young woman, also around their age, with short, spiked, red hair. "Tom, Tia, and Brendan. It's nice to see you all." Ryo walked up and greeted them all.

"Why is he acting like they're such good friends?" Mei was losing it. She seemed to forget about all the fun the three had with them. "Because that never happened! I've never even _met _Brendan yet!" She pointed accusingly.

"Hey Mei, good seeing you again." Brendan snapped a few photos of the base. "I love the decorations." He walked over to the punch bowl and grabbed himself a drink.

"I'm totally confused." Tia's head was reeling as she tried to piece something together. "Oh god, he's back. The voice in my head." Tia panicked.

"You hear it too?" Mei asked Tia desperately.

The consoled in one another. "I thought it was just me."

"You're not alone. We can beat this together." Mei swore as she gripped Tia's shoulders sympathetically.

"We need to be strong together." Tia felt suddenly a lot more empowered. "It's can't get any worse."

The door flew open. "Hello. I'm the Doc-" Mei slammed the door on the Doctor's face.

"No! You are not allowed back until Christmas! This is where I draw the line!" Mei was seeing red.

"But I'm the Doctor." He whined.

"I don't give a Rattata's ass! You will get plenty of chances to make me suffer this Christmas." Mei sighed and took a big drink. "I'm gonna to need more alcohol."

Haruka tapped a glass, "Excuse me everyone," she gathered their attention, "I'm glad you all could make it." Completely disregarding what just happened. "We're about to start the party so gather around."

Everyone gathered around Haruka. Ryo putting a hand over her shoulder and facing the crowd. "Alright, like Haruka said, thank you all for coming. We have a few excited activities for today for starters we're-" Ryo is suddenly interrupted by a black out. The room went pitch black before the lights just as suddenly turned back on.

"What just happened?" Wes looked around to see what happened. Nothing seemed out of place. "Wait. Where's Cary." He was nowhere to be seen.

As if without a trace, Cary had vanished. "What's going on here?" Takumi looked around and kept an eye on everyone else.

"Maybe he just stepped into the other room?" Haruka went to look. She walked into the kitchen and let out a scream.

"Haruka!" Ryo bolted through the door and ran up to her. "What happened?" He looked up at the walls. They were covered a vibrant red liquid with a message written in it. "Trick or Treat?" Ryo read it aloud.

"Is that blood?" Tia slowly approached it and ran her finger over it. "Guys. You don't think whoever did this _killed_ Cary?"

"We can't think like that. We need to find him. He couldn't have gotten far." Takumi looked around thoroughly. "Wait, where did Ebony go?" Takumi ran back into the main room and gasped.

"No way!" Wes covered his mouth. Everyone was stared in pure horror. There Ebony was, lying on the floor. Her eyes wide, skin flushed of a lot of its color, around her a pool of bright red fluid, and a steak knife in her back.

"Ebony no!" Takumi ran over to her. She was cold and pale. "She's… dead." Takumi shed a tear for his fallen comrade.

"No way, this can't be happening. People don't die in this series." Tia couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Brendan shook his head, "We can't really look at this and deny it."

Tom took them both by the arm and lead them out of the room. "We don't need to see this." It made him sick to his stomach to look at. He knew they felt the same way. They came back a few minutes later. Ebony's body was covered by a blanket and put to the side.

"We need to call the police." Mei urged.

"No dice, the lines are dead." Ryo tried get a call out, but nothing by the low hum of the dial tone came from the phone.

"What do we do? There's a murder on the loose in here! Cary's vanished, god knows they probably got him too. We could be next." Mei looked around suspiciously.

"We need to stick together if we want to make it out of here safely." Wes implored.

"Wes is right, but we can't also rule out the possibility that the murder may be one of us." Takumi said what everyone was too afraid to suggest.

"Who would have the motivation to do that though?" Wes asked. Knowing he of course didn't do it. Nor could he believe the others would have any reason to do it. Cipher was the most obvious suspects even they wouldn't resort to that sort of thing.

"I think we should pair up and search around. We'll learn more that way." Tia suggested. She wasn't afraid, though she maybe should be. "It'll be fine, I've got main character status." She boldly declared, as if that meant something.

"Main character status?" Haruka asked.

"Maybe she's right. We can cover more ground that way. We need to pair off to be safe though. I'll go with Haruka." Of course, Ryo chose Haruka.

"I'll take Brendan." Tia stood beside him.

"I guess I'll go with Takumi." Tom nonchalantly walked over by him.

Mei looked around at the pairings and then to Wes, then back at the pairings. "You can all go straight to hell." She was stuck with Wes of course. Not the ideal partner, but it'd have to do.

"Hey, I'm not thrilled about this either." Wes griped. "Let's just cover this place and see we learn anything." He just had to go with it. It'd all be over soon.

Tia and Brendan headed for the kitchen once more, "Okay, so this where they got the weapon. Who was in here last?" Brendan snapped a few pictures.

"I don't know? Mei got a drink out of here, but I seriously doubt it was her." Tia looked around. "Hey, check this out. It looks like we might have foot print." Tia got on her knees and checked the vague outlines of foot prints. "Mei's small, her feet couldn't be this big."

"Then do you think it's one of the guys?" Brendan took a photo of the prints.

She shook her head, "I don't know? I guarantee it's a man's shoe though. It doesn't prove anything though."

While Tia and Brendan searched down stairs, Mei and Wes began their search in the attic. "Remind me again why I'm stuck with you?" Mei complained.

"Because of course we would be." Wes really couldn't expect any less at this point. "Let's just see what we can find." He dug through some old boxes or anything that may vaguely be a hint as to what was going on.

"When did we have an attic anyway?" Mei asked herself. She was interrupted by the sound of crashing. "What was that?"

They ran over to some toppled boxes. "Over there!" Wes pointed a shadow of a figure running down the stairs. "That has to be the guy." The two gave chance.

Tia and Brendan returned to the living room after the trail of footsteps ran cold. For some reason, they just stopped suddenly, but there was not a door, stairs, or anything in sight. "The trail's run cold. Let's see if we can't regroup and find out what's going on." Brendan suggested.

The two went back to the living room to wait and regroup. One thing was off though. "Hey Brendan, where's Ebony's body?" Tia felt a chill run down her spine when she noticed the corpse was missing.

"Did they move it again? I mean a body doesn't just get up and move itself." Brendan rationed.

The two hear the sound of footsteps. There was something off about them. They were labored and dragging. Almost like a shamble. From down the hall they saw a figure limping towards them. It was Ebony, her skin was pale and cold, her expression blank and emotionless. With the same sharp knife used to stab her. Still covered in her own blood. "You let me die." She moaned as she shambled towards them.

"Run!" Brendan grabbed Tia by the arm and made a run for it.

Tia and Brendan's footsteps echoed down the hall and more footsteps came their way. "Slow down!" Mei shouted as she desperately tried to keep up with Wes.

"So you can get in front of me and trip me again? No way bitch!" Wes and Mei were both being pursued now. They followed the shadowy figure, but when they caught up to it, the man they chased was a wearing a mask and brandishing a machete.

"Fine, but I die my blood is on your hands!" Mei protested.

"Whatever, if I died then it'd be the same for you." Wes said, but knew Mei didn't really care. He wasn't going to let that happen to him or Mei.

Tia and Brendan ran down the hall as Wes and Mei did. Both groups stopping before they collided. "What are you two running from?"

"A crazy guy in a mask with a machete. Why are you two running." Wes looked back at the man fast approaching. He did not think this was a good time to stop and talk

"Ebony's a zombie and is chasing us with a knife!" Tia pointed back to their undead friend slowly shambling towards them.

The four were trapped. "What do we do?" Mei panicked. "Help!" She cried out.

Wes threw his arms around her and turned his back to the man with the machete. "I'll protect you."

"Wes." Mei was surprised by his sudden noble act.

Tia cracked her knuckles. "I'm not afraid of some zombie." Tia stood between undead Ebony and Brendan.

The two closed in on them, the four both terrified, but ready to fight. The two assailants stopped though. The one in the mask started giving a low bellow from under the mask. While Ebony's face twisted into a smile and laughed alongside the masked man.

"Oh my god, if only ya guys could see ya faces right now." The masked man laughed and pulled off the mask. It was Cary.

"I must say, that was very noble of you, Wes. Protecting Mei like that. I never thought you cared so much about her." Ebony laughed.

"What the hell is going on?" Mei shouted.

"They pranked us." Tia glared.

Cary waved his machete which wiggled. It was made of rubber. Ebony bent back her knife and flicked it forward. "God, ya guys were terrified it was hilarious." Cary laughed more.

"Ebony, how? You were covered in blood and everything." Brendan and everyone could see that.

"Fake blood obviously. I had some help from a star performer too." Ebony motioned to Takumi who was walking down the hall.

"I love a good prank every now and then." Takumi chuckled.

"It was pretty elaborate. He filled me in on everything." Tom explained. "I was the one who drew Mei and Wes from the attic. Ryoko and Haruka bought us some time by making those fake foot prints." Everyone was secretly in on it.

Brendan chuckled, "Wow, you guys really did go all out."

"That's horrible! You had us scared half to death!" Mei did not find the humor in it.

"Oh, lighten up." Cary patted Mei on the back.

"Now we can really start the party." Ryo and Haruka joined them all. They lead everyone back into the main room where the decorating had been completed.

"You got us this time, just wait for next year though." Tia finally conceded to the prank. "Let's eat!" She headed straight for the food table.

Wes walked up to Mei. "Am I the only one who is seriously hating Halloween right now?"

"Well get them for this next year." Mei groaned. She then paused and looked at Wes. "Hey, thanks for what you did. I know I'm not the nicest to you, but it means a lot to me that you were trying to protect me." Mei blushed.

Wes pulled Mei into a one-armed hug, "Happy Halloween, Mei."

She smiled and hugged him back. "Happy Halloween."

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. This was just a quick little special chapter. Don't worry we'll be getting back into the action soon. Since it was Shadow Destiny two years in a row, and next year if I'm not mistaken, too. I thought I'd throw in some Tia's Tales characters too. Happy Halloween everyone!


	41. Chapter 38: In the Dark

Chapter 38: In the Dark

She flew into the evening and well into the night. Mei had no direction or idea where to go. She just knew she needed to get out of Orre. So, Mei flew to the one region Ryoko was most likely in. The Kanto Region. Even that wasn't a guarantee, but she had to at least try. Kanto was large, so finding him wouldn't be easy. Mei wasn't worried about that right now. For now, she just needed a place to stop and rest.

Mei landed in the first city she could find. She was completely turned around; she knew nothing about the world outside of Orre. That went a long way to showing how sheltered she was under Cipher's influence.

"Where am I?" Mei asked herself as she wandered around the streets. It was a large city with many skyscrapers. It was weird not seeing the star at night due to all the tall buildings and bright lights. Mei dumped her uniform and wore a pair of street clothes. The clothes on her back were about the only possessions she had right now.

Before she could continue her search, one thing made itself abundantly clear. Mei was starving. Several hours of flying and nothing to eat took its toll. Mei wandered through the streets until she came across a diner.

Feeling both hunger and exhausted, Mei sat herself and contemplated her situation. Would staying in Orre and helping the rebels been the better idea? She knew it would bring a lot more heat down on them if they were harboring a traitor. Plus, Mei knew even if Takumi trusted her, that didn't mean the others would be so accepting.

Mei hadn't even gazed at the menu when the waitress came by. Mei snapped out of it and jus tasked for a water. Mei figured she should probably order before she got any hungrier. "Excuse me," Mei looked up, "sorry to butt in, but you look a little upset." A woman with long, black hair spoke from an adjacent booth.

Mei collected herself, "It's nothing, I'm not from around here."

"I can tell, what brings you to Saffron City?" The woman asked.

"Saffron City?" Well, Mei now at least knew the name of the city she was in. "I don't really know to be honest. I was just flying until I couldn't fly anymore. My Pokemon and I are both exhausted." Either way she looked at it, Mei came off desperate and alone. Both of which she was.

"If you need some where to stay the Pokemon Center's a couple blocks that way." She pointed out the window.

"Thanks, I should probably head there once I'm done." She reached into her pocket. Realizing she didn't bring a lot of money. Not that she ever had much to begin with. Outside of going out to eat, Mei didn't need money. Cipher didn't pay their agents much since they basically paid for everything they needed to begin with. Housing, food, clothes, and utilities were all taken care of for her. "How much do they charge?" Mei was afraid to ask.

The woman cocked her head, "Nothing, it's a Pokemon Center. They let trainer's stay free of charge. Where are you from?" Almost every major region had a Pokemon league and free Pokemon Center care. Orre was one of the exceptions.

"The Orre Region." Mei said discreetly.

"What's your name?" The woman asked.

"Mei and yes, I'm Orrean. I ran away from Orre." Mei confessed. She figured lying wouldn't help her.

"Why'd you run away?" The woman prodded further, but Mei wasn't mad.

"I'm looking for my brother. I had to get out from under Team Cipher too. I didn't really have a plan, but I needed to do something. So here I am." Mei's head sank a little as she basically admitted to running into this situation completely unprepared.

This went against everything she was taught, but she couldn't trust anything Cipher told her. She didn't know who she could trust, and yet she's baring her troubles on a total stranger.

"Wow, sounds to me like you're in a pretty bad way. Is there anything I can do to help?" The woman offered, trying to stay positive.

Mei was more than a little shocked. A total stranger was willing to help her. Was there a catch? Was she just doing it out of the goodness of her heart? Was it a trap? Was there a catch? Mei had a million and one reasons to be skeptical. No one is Cipher or the Orre Region ever did things just to be nice. Still, Mei chose to trust this woman. "It's a long shot, but you wouldn't happen to have met a guy named Ryoko have you?" Mei produced a picture of him.

The woman recognized his face immediately. "So it is the same guy."

Mei sprang up out of her seat and over to the woman's booth. "You know him? Please tell me, you know where he is."

"I met him when Team Rocket attacked Viridian City. My name is Sabrina, I'm the Saffron City gym leader. I fought him and a girl named Haruka."

Mei stammered back, "No, you don't understand. He's not that guy anymore. Neither is she. We all three defected from Cipher."

Sabrina looked with a bit of skepticism. "I don't know where he is, but I know someone who might."

"Thank you, I've tried contacting him, but I can't reach him, or he's avoiding my calls. I have something very important to tell him. He needs to come back to Orre." Mei further explains.

"Why would you want to go back?" Sabrina asked.

"Because, we're going to destroy Cipher once and for all." Mei said with all seriousness. Sabrina could see the determination in her eyes. Mei's unwavering desire to dismantle the organization that ruined countless lives.

Sabrina nodded silently, "Come by my gym tomorrow. I'll see what I can do to help." Sabrina and Mei shook on it, Sabrina fully intending on keeping her word. She couldn't do anything to stop them, but if Mei and Ryo could, then Sabrina will do whatever she can to help.

Meanwhile, secluded in the deserts of Orre, other plans were unfolding. "How is she holding up?" Gonzap asked as he shuffled through files and reports.

"Not great sir. We gave her the best medicine we can offer, but none of our medical staff are experience enough or equipped to help her. We've eased the pain, but we haven't yet fixed the problem." One of Gonzap's men informed him.

"I was afraid of that, so I've taken the liberty of looking into places that would help. I think this is our best bet." He slid forward a file.

"The Pokemon Coordination Lab? Sir that's all the way across the desert on the other side of Mt. Battle. It would take us days to get there." He protested.

"You're right, but we're desperate, Haruka needs this and the men at that lab will be able to help her." Gonzap was confident in this fact.

"What if they refuse to help?" It was a very real possibility. Snagem's reputation wasn't much better than Cipher's in the public's eyes.

"They can refuse to help all they want, but will they be able to deny helping a young, pregnant woman in as much pain as Haruka is?" Gonzap was playing up the sympathy card, but he didn't care. It had to be done. This wasn't for him or Team Snagem. This was for Haruka.

"We'll ready a vehicle."

Gonzap smiled, "That's what I like to hear."

In a small room set aside for Haruka, she rested as she slowly recovered. She knew her diagnosis and the doctors here were useless. She took sedatives to numb the pain, but she knew it was only a temporary relief. She thought for a second, it wasn't fair of her to call them useless. They did all they could with what they had. She couldn't really expect Gonzap and his men to have a full staffed medical bay like Cipher did.

She was sweating, her head reeling. She was filled with so many emotions. The fact her hormones were raging didn't help. She still felt a pit in her stomach after learning what Ein had done to her. She gently rubbed her stomach. "_Please, I want you to be okay._" She was singing a different tone. Haruka's crippling depression caused her think things she now regretted. "_My baby_." Tears rolled down her cheeks. If there were any silver lining, then Haruka's need to live on her for her baby's sake was it.

An agent knocked on her door, "Ma'am is everything alright?" Just a routine check-in.

"More or less." She grumbled.

"If you need anything else please do not hesitate. Gonzap wanted me to inform you to be ready. We will be escorting you to the Pokemon Coordination Lab." He gave her the latest news.

Shocking news, "What? The Pokemon HQ Lab? How did he pull that one off?" Haruka was surprised for sure. Either Gonzap was more well connected than she thought, or he was going to strong arm them in to helping her. Haruka would regret if it was the latter.

"We'll assist you when we are ready. Please, do not stress yourself to much. Yours and your child's health are currently Team Snagem's number one priority." He informed her.

Haruka blushed, "Thank you. I had no idea Gonzap was so worried about my safety." She was flattered, Ein doted all over her too, but that was all and act to keep her in his favor. She saw that now.

"We all are ma'am. You are a part of Team Snagem now. We may not have Cipher's numbers or skills, but we look out for our own." He said with a gentle smile.

"Doesn't all this go against what Snagem's work towards?" Betraying Cipher and now actively working against them with one of Cipher's key assets.

"Our leader has been trying to dethrone Cipher for a long time, as you are aware. We all know the risks and even though we've been subservient to Cipher, we are not obligated to obey them. We have one goal, stop Cipher." He said in a firm and noble manner. A man of conviction. That's what separated Snagem from Cipher.

"Then I'll help all I can. Now that I have something to fight for, more than just myself." Haruka rubbed her stomach affectionately. Haruka started to gag as her head spun. "You're not making it easy on me." Haruka couldn't resist smiling.

Gonzap opened the doors to Haruka's room. "We're ready to depart."

Back in Saffron City, the morning had come. Mei couldn't hardly sleep. Let alone sleep in. Her brain was hardwired to get up exactly at dawn, even if Kanto and Orre had different dawns. That didn't make it any easier.

As per Sabrina's request, Mei went to the gym at Noon. "Hello, I'm here to see your gym leader." She said politely, but still a little on edge. She'd already circled the gym and city blocks four or five times to make sure she wasn't being tailed. Ducking down alleyways, slowing down and speeding up on the sidewalks. Making sudden jaunts across the street. To any normal civilian, Mei would look staggeringly lost, but she at least knew she wasn't being tailed.

"Oh yes, are you here for a gym battle?" The greet was all too excited to invite her in.

"No, this is more of a personal visit." Mei explained.

"Yes, her and I have some things to talk about." Sabrina walked up. She escorted Mei into her office. "You'll have to tell us all the details. I've told him a little, but we'll need the full story."

Sabrina opened the door and there sat Tom. "You're Mei?" He got up and greeted her. "My name's Tom."

"Thank you for helping. I'm sure Sabrina told you that I'm an ex-agent of Team Cipher like Ryoko. I also learned he was my brother. Anyway, I need to know where he is so I can get him back to Orre." Mei urged.

"Ryo is training right now. He wants to get better before returning to Orre, that's his goal." Tom said calmly.

"We don't have that kind of time. Haruka needs him! She's pregnant with his child and is suffering!" Mei pressed harder.

"Even more reason he'll want to get stronger. Nothing will be accomplished if he leaves now. He'll just get in more danger and won't be able to protect anyone." Tom stood firmly on this decision though.

"You don't understand-" Mei got in Tom's face.

"No, you don't understand!" He fired back. "Ryo is trying to discover the trainer he really is. He won't be able to do that if he's fighting for his and everyone else's life in Orre. Don't think for a second he has anything else on his mind other than protecting the ones he loves. To do that, he needs to go on a journey of self-discovery." Tom remained steadfast.

Mei balled her fist. "If you won't tell me, then I'll force it out of you. If I beat you in a Pokemon battle, then you'll tell me where he is."

Tom rolled his eyes, "No. I'm not battling you. Unless you're going to _actually_ beat the information out of me, then I'm not talking."

"I'm not leaving her until I get my answer." Mei stubbornly held her ground.

"_You and her would get along great._" Tom rolled his eyes. A certain, stubborn, red head came to mind. "You have no chance of beating me."

"I've beat Lugia and Mewtwo in Cipher's battle sims, which are pretty accurate since they have the data." Mei defended.

"You've beaten legendary Pokemon in battle?" Tom was dubious about the simulations part, but if they were based on the actual Pokemon, then even fifty percent accuracy would be impressive. "Fine. Sabrina, you can battle her."

Sabrina looked blindsided. "Wait, what?"

"She said she can handle legendary Pokemon. You should be more than enough for her." Tom winked.

"Really? Alright, I guess it is my gym after all. You heard him, let's head to the battlefield." Sabrina escorted Mei out into the gym once more and to the main battlefield. "Let's make this a quick one-on-one Pokemon battle. Choose your best Pokemon."

Mei nodded, "Alright, go Slowking." Mei had only one choice, her first and most loyal Pokemon.

Sabrina looked over at Tom, "Well I guess this is what he wanted. Go Meloetta!" The legendary Melody Pokemon emerged in her Aria Form. "If you can handle legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo and Lugia, then Meloetta shouldn't be too difficult."

"I've never met a trainer with a legendary Pokemon before." Mei was awestruck. She now realized the gravity of the situation and something else too. "So wait, is that kid stronger than you?"

Sabrina laughed, "Kid? You two are the same age, aren't you?"

"I'm twenty-one!" Mei protested.

Sabrina was shocked. "You're older than me? Anyway, that _kid_ is Tom, the Pokemon League World Champion."

Mei was dumbfounded. "World Champion. He's the best trainer in the world right now?"

"Don't sound too surprised." Tom grumbled.

Sabrina and Mei's battle began. Mei eagerly starting things off, she wasn't going to lose, even if she was up against a legendary Pokemon. "Scald, Slowking." Slowking released a torrent of scalding hot water.

"Use Ice Punch Meloetta." Before the water could douse Meloetta, Sabrina had a counter. Meloetta flew forward and punched the water with a cold hand, evaporating the water into a thick haze. "Meloetta use Relic Song." Meloetta fired through the haze at Slowking.

"Use Thunderwave!" Mei had an answer of her own. The melodic attack hit Slowking, sending him staggering back, but still fired off a Thunderwave to neutralize Meloetta. The bolt of electricity cut through the haze, but Meloetta was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd it go?"

Sabrina smiled, "Close Combat." Meloetta appeared in a flash behind Slowking. Now in its Pirouette Form.

"What?" Before Mei could figure out what happened Slowking was being pummeled by attacks.

"Meloetta's in her Pirouette Form. She's now Fighting and Normal instead of Normal and Psychic." Sabrina explained.

"Psyshock, Slowking!" Slowking took advantage of the close proximity and used it to strike.

"Relic Song." Meloetta respond faster than Slowking, and used Relic Song to do some quick damage and change forms again.

Back in her Aria Form, Meloetta was assaulted by the psychic attack, but the damage was greatly reduced. "Shadow Ball." Sabrina was through playing around. She was ready to end this.

"Flamethrower!" Shadow ball came directly towards Slowking, there was no way he could dodge it. Mei had to settle for the next best option. The Flamethrower attack was fending off the Shadow Ball, but Sabrina and Meloetta's attack was proving to be too powerful. Cutting through the Flamethrower and eventually colliding with Slowking's face. Causing an explosion of dark energy that sent Slowking flying.

"Slowking!" Mei ran to her felled Pokemon.

"You did well, but you see what I'm talking about now? You're stronger than Ryo, but even you have a long way to go before beating Cipher." Tom explained.

"Well I can't just sit back and train all day and night." Mei protested.

"You could." Tom suggested. "You have to get strong the best way you can. Ryo is doing the same. This is the path he's decided on. You can't force him to do what you want him to do. Trust me, this is for the best. I want to see Cipher dismantled as much as the next person. It's not time yet though."

Mei sank her head. "Can I at least see him?" it was a simple request.

Tom sighed, "Yes. You deserve at least that. Don't expect to convince him though."

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. This will be the last real bit of crossing over for Tom for a while. Things are going to be shifting more towards all the events converging in Orre while Ryo and Mei both strive to get stronger. Things are about to come to a head.


	42. Chapter 39: Fight the Night

Chapter 39: Fight the Night

By Gonzap's calculations it would take them at least two days to get to the Pokemon Coordination Lab. Forty-eight hours in a cramp convoy was not ideal for anyone. Gonzap and a few guards were with Haruka in a private escort, while others followed behind, stopping to switch off drives every so often.

They departed in the dead of night, keeping the headlights off to avoid attention. The first leg of the journey would be the toughest when it came to avoiding Cipher attention. Anyone else's attention could be just as bad. Whistle blowers, the OLG, even Gonzap questioned if the rebellion was fully on their side.

As he should, little did he or anyone else know, but Takumi was keeping a close eye on them. From Aragite Town, Takumi was in his office watching from a camera he'd secured to a Skarmory. Secretly it flew, keeping tabs on Gonzap and his team.

"It's one in the morning. You should be in bed." Ebony said from the door. She looked at Takumi with a tired smile and gentle eyes.

"I could say the same to you, Ebony. I'm keeping tabs on Team Snagem." Takumi's deep voice was practically a grumble in his tired state.

She smirked and walked over. Sitting on his desk and observing the camera feed. "You don't trust Gonzap?"

"As long as Haruka's in the condition she's in I'm going to be cautious. I know Mei trusts them, but I can't be so sure." Takumi didn't question his daughter's judge of character. She knew Snagem and Haruka far better than he did, so if she trusted Haruka with them, then he could too. Still, he had his reservations. He always did.

Ebony turned off the TV. "Get some sleep, if you're still worried tomorrow, we'll do recon in the morning. No sense in worrying yourself now."

Takumi smiled, "Thanks, I'm sure I'm just being paranoid." He got up and stepped into the other room. "Sleep well yourself."

Ebony showed herself out. "Taku seems a bit on edge don't ya think?" Cary stood right against the building.

"He's just a bit over protective. I can't fault him for that." Ebony explained.

"A lot's goin on right now. Ya think everything'll be fine?" Cary seemed a bit nervous himself.

Ebony walked up to Cary and gently caressed his cheek with the back of her palm. She looked deep into his eyes and said in a sultry tone, "Everything is going according to plan. Once Takumi's calmed down I'll convince him to make an alliance with Team Snagem. Then once Mei and Ryoko return, our strengths will be bolstered even more."

"Til then what do we do? Ya thinkin Cipher's gonna hit that convoy?" Cary worried about that more than anything now.

"Most assuredly. We'll do some recon and send someone out to help in the morning." Ebony didn't have the final say, but she was Takumi's top adviser, in essence.

"Ya thinkin Zeph be the best choice?" Cary suggested.

"Yes, also, we need make sure Wes doesn't get involved. He would be the first volunteer. He loves to play the hero, but he'd be outmatched. Takumi knows this. He's too vital to our plans to get captured now." Ebony advised.

"So, I'm stuck doing the dirty work. I see how it is." Cary wasn't euthanasic about this plan.

"Think of it as protecting a future investment. Once everything is said and done, our numbers will have increased drastically. Then we'll strike." Ebony had a plan. A plan that would shake up the status quo in Orre.

The next morning, the convoy way still going strong. Team Snagem hadn't hit any major obstacles or resistance, but Gonzap wasn't getting comfortable just yet.

Haruka groaned and tossed and turned in her sleep. She finally woke up. Bleary eyed and still fatigued. "How'd you sleep?" Gonzap sat in the back with her. Haruka was spread across a make shift cot.

"I'll give you one guess." She groaned and rubbed her eyes.

"Don't worry, you'll be well soon. I promise." He patted her on the shoulder.

"Gonzap, you've done so much for me. I can't thank you all enough." She felt genuinely at ease in that moment.

"Having you with us is thanks enough. I know with your help we'll go far and finally put an end to Cipher." Gonzap was committed to this more so now than ever.

"Then what?" Haruka had to ask.

"Honestly, I don't know. Will we be the ones to replace Cipher as the dominant threat to the people of Orre? Will we become a unifying force for good? I don't have those answers. I'll let you guide us." Gonzap had a lot of faith in Haruka.

"So, I just have to carve the fate of an entire region. No pressure. Glad screwing up my child's life isn't my own big concern." She was not feeling quite as at ease now.

"We'll help you every step of the way. If we're lucky, the rebellion will prove to be a reliable ally too." Gonzap explained.

"I just hope Mei and Ryoko come back soon." Haruka laments.

Gonzap smiled, "I know they wouldn't just abandon you if you were in real danger. The future of Orre rests on your shoulders. Yours, Ryoko, and Mei's."

"Again, no pressure or anything." Haruka added.

"Well two of you have already proven yourselves worthy to wield legendary Pokemon. Such feats are almost unheard of in the world." Gonzap had to commend her for that much at least.

"I've seen it four, rather five, of them myself." None of which were particularly fond memories.

"Five?" Gonzap looked at her in disbelief.

Haruka nodded, "The current world champion with his Rayquaza, a girl named Tia who could also control Rayquaza, a woman with Virizon, and two gym leaders who caught Moltres and Zapdos."

"_So, she wasn't lying._" Gonzap said to himself. "Anyway, my point is, you are destined for greatness Haruka. I know it." Gonzap left it on that note. Letting the ailing Haruka rest some more. He didn't want her to feel like she bore all the responsibility on her own. Especially in the condition she was in. The added stress would no doubt make it worse.

Thankfully, she wasn't alone. She had Snagem, and the moral support of the rebellion. She was like Takumi's own child. She was very important to his own children, which gave Takumi even more reason to want to protect her.

"We're going to send someone out there to watch over Team Snagem in case something happens. It may sound paranoid, but I'd rather us be safe than sorry." Takumi had everyone is for a meeting. His proposal did not lend anyone to an alternative. This was their plan, like it or not.

"I'll go." Wes offered without hesitation.

"If I could make a suggestion. I think it's about time we put our dear Zephyrine through her paces." Ebony gave a counter suggestion.

"Seriously, it's been boring as hell around here. The most excitement I've had since joining you guys was taking this town. I wanna bust some Cipher skulls." Zeph insisted. She was onboard with Ebony's plan. As Ebony expected her to be.

"Your Hydreigon would catch up to them a lot quicker, and be a lot more discreet than Wes's motorcycle. Very well, I hope you're not upset Wes." Takumi looked to Wes for his thoughts.

Wes shook his head, "Just so long as Haruka's safe."

The plan was in motion. Zephyrine departed immediately. Travelling top speeds to catch up to them as fast as possible.

Elsewhere.

"Sir, we received word that Team Snagem is on the move and escorting something."

"Good, I can take a guess what. Ready a team. It's time we take what is ours."

"Yes sir."

After a few hours flying Zephyrine finally caught up to the convoy. Zephyrine was cautious, as per her orders, as she flew on her Hydreigon, she kept a safe distance from Team Snagem's convoy to make sure she still had the element of surprise. "I'm not seeing anything yet. Hope Cipher does show up. I wanna bust some skulls." Zeph reiterated. Some would say was a little too ambitious to fight today.

"Ideally it won't come to that." Takumi said over radio. "Remember, don't engage until back up comes."

"That's no fun." She pouted. "This is my first time you guys put me out on a mission, I'm not going to just sit back and watch." Zeph had made her displeasure known over how little action as a member of the rebellion.

"It's the safe choice. What if they caught you?" Takumi argued.

Zeph said nothing in response. She still had a job to do regardless, and looked like things were finally in motion. "Hold up, I see two vehicles coming from the south. Two trucks, something tells me they aren't friendly." Zephyrine got a little closer, but kept her distance.

From the convoy, "Sir, we've got trucks on our flank. Looks like Cipher."

Gonzap sighed and grabbed a Pokeball, "Well, it's not like we didn't see this coming. Men, ready your Pokemon."

The Cipher team called out Pokemon to climb on the vehicles and attack the convoy. "They're wasting no time. I'm going in." Zephyrine declared.

"No, wait for backup." Takumi urged.

"Screw that!" She ignored him entirely and called out her Mandibuzz.

"We need to send reinforcements now." Takumi turned to the rest of the team.

"I'll go." Without hesitation, Wes offered to put himself in the line of duty to help Zephyrine.

They had another plan in mind though. "Nah, I got this Wes. You stay and hold down the fort." Cary's proposal was a surprise to Wes and Takumi. Cary and Ebony's concerns the night before were coming to fruition.

"It's the smart call. Cary is still the stronger trainer. We can't risk Wes getting captured. No offense." Ebony explained.

Wes clenched his fists and tightened his jaw. "No, you're right. He's still stronger than I am. It's the better option. Plus, he can get there faster via Braviary." Wes wasn't going to let a foolish sense of pride get in the way of the importance of a well-executed mission.

"Don't feel bad, man. Imma let you take the next one 'kay?" Cary patted him on the shoulder.

"Thanks. Go on." Wes watched as Cary pulled out his Braviary and flew off towards Zephyrine's location.

Things were heating up quick, however. "Hydreigon use Fire Blast! Mandibuzz swoop in." The second Cipher sent out their Pokemon she counter attacked.

"What on earth?" One of the grunts looked to the sky. "A Mandibuzz and Hydreigon? Wait, that deep blue hair. It's Crazy Eyes herself!"

Zephyrine's reputation proceeded her. "Thunderbolt that Mandibuzz Electabuzz!" Zephyrine managed to divert some of their attention.

Mandibuzz dove in for an attack. Zephyrine cracked a smile. The Thunderbolt hit her Mandibuzz, but it didn't seem to care too much for some reason. Mandibuzz began turn all black and distorted its form. Its beak disappeared, its wings and talons turning into long, thin arms and legs. "Flamethrower Zoroark!"

In a surprising barrage, Zephyrine was doing a very good job of fighting off Cipher herself. "Looks like we had a powerful ally waiting in the wings." Gonzap was impressed. "She's going to need more help though. I'm glad we could count on the rebellion after all." He commented to himself.

"Thunder Punch Electabuzz." The grunt wasn't giving up and more and more joined the fray. With Team Snagem's own men doing their best to fend them off. The clock was ticking until Cary arrived so Zephyrine needed to make sure her Pokemon weren't worn out too quickly. This battle was going to be a true test of her mettle.

Gonzap and Zephyrine both recognized they were in for the long haul. "Hey rebel girl!" Gonzap called out.

"Call me Zeph." She called back, not wanting to be distracted from her current battle.

"Zeph. How long can you hold out?" Gonzap wasn't going to immediately jump into battle. He knew he'd have to be Team Snagem's last line of defense.

"As long as I need to, don't worry. I've got back up on the way too. We're not letting these Cipher bastards take her." Zephyrine lowered her sunglasses and winked.

Even Gonzap was a little taken aback by her unnaturally red eyes. "Good, we'll need all the help we can get. I doubt this is even the half of what we should be expecting to run into."

Gonzap was correct. Something much bigger was just brewing under the surface at the research lab. "Ma'am our men have come under heavy fire. We need more units." One grunt addressed his superior.

"Send all available units. We're getting her back one way or another."

Cipher wasn't the only one plotting it seemed. "Sir, our men have been deployed and will intercept the convoy in a matter of hours."

The commander, Sinclair, sat at his desk. "Very good, we should expect a lot of firework. Cipher has already caught wind, we just need overpower them and Snagem. Then the prize will be ours." Sinclair laughed a truly sinister laugh. "All is for Orre." He declared.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well, Pokemon Sun and Moon are officially out, and i am proud to say I've already beaten Sun. Hence why this wasn't really the longest chapter. It gave me a lot of ideas for how the Sun and Moon arc of Sagas will go though. Even if that'll be years down the line at this rate. Hope you all are enjoying the games, because I think Sun and Moon have had the best story so far, bar none.


	43. Chapter 40: Eclipse the Dark

Chapter 40: Eclipse the Dark

The situation in the Orre Desert was heating up as Zeph and the rest of the Snagem agents fought back against seemingly endless waves of opposition, but they never got discouraged. When they did though, Zeph was there to motivate and give them the push they needed to keep going.

"Keep battling! You call yourselves men? I'm a sixteen-year-old girl and still have more balls than you!" She berated them as she fought of Cipher grunts after Cipher grunt. Zeph had all the grace of a drill sergeant, but it worked. These men were not going to be so easily show up by a teenaged girl.

Gonzap watched from the convoy and laughed, "She's a feisty one, I'll give her that. Makes me wonder where they picked up a girl like her from." Gonzap recognized that her entire team was strictly Dark Types from the Unova region. An odd choice, making him wonder if she was native to Orre or not. Either way, she was one of the most impressive trainers he's seen in a long time.

"She was tied to that debacle in the Deep Colosseum." Haruka weakly clarified. She heard all about it from Ein. She was sweating bullets at this point, her condition was not improving. They needed to get her the help she needed and fast. They were still a fair distance away even after hours of fending off Cipher.

Another wave retreated, surely the next wasn't far behind. Zeph flew over and hoped into the convoy with Gonzap and Haruka. "You've been a huge help, we can't thank you enough." Gonzap was very happy with the support they'd gotten to this point. Still, a long journey was ahead of them.

"Yeah don't thank me yet. Where the hell are we going anyway?" Zeph figured that was relevant information to have.

"The Pokemon Coordination Lab, it's on the other side of Mt. Battle." Gonzap informed her. Zephyrine was proving to be an invaluable ally so sharing their plan with her was not a problem.

Haruka groaned, "Cipher's not going to let up though. We need reinforcements."

Zeph took Haruka's hand and clutched it between her own. "Don't worry, reinforcements are on the way. We won't let anything happen to you." In a surprising bit of calm reassurance Zephyrine compassionately supported Haruka.

A tear welled up in Haruka's eye. "Thank you, Zeph." She knew she had to pull through for her and all the others that were supporting her. Plus, she had to for Ryoko as well. So much was hinging on Haruka getting better.

"I have an idea. Haruka, do you think you can move?" Zeph asked.

"What's your plan?" Gonzap stepped in.

"I could take her with my Hydreigon. We'd be able to get there a lot faster and have less resistance that way." Zeph explained.

"I think I could handle that. It's the best option. That way we'd divert Cipher's attention a bit and get to the lab faster." Haruka agreed with this plan.

"That's a good idea, but are you sure you're up to it?" Gonzap was worried the flight would make her feel even worse.

"I'll work through it, I'm doing this for everyone." She gave him a thumbs-up as Zeph sat her up.

Zeph propped Haruka up and eased her forward. Haruka covering her mouth as she felt the rocking of the convoy. "You alright?"

Haruka nodded, "I'll be fine."

They opened the back door and called out Hydreigon. Zeph climbed on while making sure Haruka was secured behind her. As they were beginning their departure more grunts came. "Crap."

"Don't worry we'll fend them off. Go!" Gonzap had his men at the ready. When suddenly the Cipher grunts were attack by an oncoming armored truck. "Your reinforcements?"

Zeph shook her head, "No."

The assailants quickly turned their focus to the Snagem convoy next. Sinclair stuck his head out from the truck and made his declaration. "Excuse us, but we've come to collect a very necessary asset of the Orre Liberation Group."

"OLG Bastards." Zeph growled and quickly took off, but they had a lot more air support than Cipher did.

Skarmory flew through the sky while Hydreigon tried giving them the slip. Maneuvering was limited with two human passengers. As the Skarmory drew closer a blur tore through the sky and plowed into the side of the flock of steel birds. "There's my back-up."

Cary flew beside them with her Braviary. He shot Zeph a grin and said, "Yo I got this Zeph, get the princess to her destination aight?"

"Princess?" Haruka wasn't sure where that came from.

"Thanks Cary, we're heading for the Pokemon Coordination Lab. Give that smug asshole a beating!" Zeph took off with Haruka.

"You heard'em Braviary. How's about we give our old buddy Sinclair another Brave Bird for his troubles." Cary hopped off and onto the top of the Snagem convoy. Maintaining his balance as he directed his Pokemon. Braviary was just the Flying Type for the job. "Time for the big guns. Gigalith! Time to rock and roll! Rock Slide!"

Gigalith manifested a landslide of rock onto all upcoming opposition. Giving Zephyrine and Haruka the opening they needed to slip away.

"We can't let them get it away!" Sinclair ordered.

"Too late for that Clair." Cary smirked.

"You're just as annoying as ever. You and that floozy you're always around." Sinclair sneered as his men continued battling with Team Snagem and Team Cipher. A massive four-way conflict was breaking out. Team Snagem with help from the rebellion. Versus the unrelenting forces of Team Cipher. While the OLG fought both.

The evening was rolling around fast. Hydreigon flew at top speeds leaving anyone who might be pursuing in the dust. Her X-Transceiver rang. "Yo."

"How's everything going on your end? Cary told us you took Haruka on your own." Takumi checked in with Zeph as assurance that they were alright. He wasn't worried about her being able to fight back, but hearing they were okay put his mind at ease.

"We're fine," she looked back at Haruka who was half asleep, "we'll be at the Pokemon Coordination Lab before long."

Takumi was relieved to hear that. "That's good news. I sent out Wes, he should be there by morning hopefully."

"Good, the rest of the convoy should too, but Sinclair and his merry band of assholes decided to step in too." Zeph was still angry about that unwelcomed development.

"Cary can handle them. Just focus on getting Haruka to safety." Takumi said sternly.

"No problem. I'll get back to you when we get there." Zeph hung up.

"I'm sorry, I've been such a burden to everyone." Haruka said weakly.

"You have nothing to apologize for. They're using your condition and taking advantage of it. Now if you start saying you're not worth protecting I'll land Hydreigon and kick your ass myself." Zeph smirked.

Haruka chuckled, "You're an eclectic group."

"Yeah between my loud mouth, the bleeding-heart Wes, the womanizer Cary, and the man… and womanizer Ebony. We're all pretty weird. Wes and Takumi are the only normal ones. Then the whole chick who hated Wes turned out to be Takumi's daughter, and that Ryoko guy is her brother. God, Cipher did some pretty cryptic crap." Zeph was making sure she had it all straight in her head.

Haruka took a moment to process all of that. "Wait. What?" She shouted.

Zeph jumped, "You didn't know?"

"Mei was in such a rush she never mentioned that. So, your leader is Ryoko and Mei's dad? Also, Ryoko and Mei are siblings?" So much information to take in at once. Her pregnancy brain was also feeling fried.

"They can tell you themselves some other time. We're here." Zeph landed Hydreigon and helped Haruka down gently.

This unannounced visit caught the attention of the whole lab. "Who are you?" One of the lab aides walked up.

"We're looking for a doctor. This woman needs help badly." Zeph implored.

"We have no idea who you people are. You could be Cipher agents. Besides this is not a hospital." The aide was not so willing to give medical attention to a complete stranger.

"Please, she's pregnant and has serious morning sickness, the baby could be in danger." Zephyrine took off her sunglasses showing genuine fear in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, we're a Pokemon lab, not a maternity ward."

"That's enough." A man in a lab coat and thick framed glasses walked out. He wore a weary smile as he approached the two. "Get her a stretcher and take her to the infirmary."

"Yes Prof. Krane." The aide ran for a stretcher immediately.

"Tell me young lady, what symptoms are you experiencing?" Prof. Krane asked in a gentle tone.

"Everything I have seems to indicate I have Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Unknowingly I was being prescribe medicine for a stomach virus that was linked to miscarriages."

"My goodness, we'll give you and your baby a checkup right away. Don't worry, you're in good hands." Prof. Krane's smile was warm and reassuring. He was a genuine man. A rare and refreshing sight to Haruka and Zeph.

They grabbed a stretcher and carted her off to his lab. "We have a live-in area if you need some place to sit and wait." He extended the offer to Zephyrine.

"Oh. Thanks." Zeph wasn't quite sure how to respond to his hospitality. "I don't really have much money."

Prof. Krane laughed, "We don't want your money. We have a fully stocked kitchen. If you don't mind me saying, but you look like you've gone through a lot to get here."

"You don't know the half of it." Zeph sighed.

"Well make yourself at home. I'll check up on your friend." Prof. Krane walked off.

Zeph gave a sigh of relief and followed one of the aides to the cafeteria. She grabbed something to tide her over and made a call out to Takumi.

"Hey, we made it just fine. The professor here took Haruka in and is examining her now. Neither Cipher or the OLG are here yet. I'm not holding my breath though." Zeph informed Takumi of the current situation.

"Good to hear, Cary reported in earlier. Cipher and the OLG fell back. Probably building back up their resources for one final strike when Snagem reaches Haruka. Chances are you weren't followed so Cipher and Sinclair probably have no idea where you are." Takumi was relieved to say the least, but he still had his concerns.

"Then there's no reason for Snagem to join us, if they are being tracked, then they'll lead Cipher right to the lab's door step." Zeph cautioned.

"I felt the same way, but I have a feeling Cipher will find you regardless, so it's better to have Snagem there to defend the lab, than it is for you to try and protect it by yourself."

"I can handle Cipher." Zeph was offended that he thought she couldn't.

"I never said you couldn't, Zeph. Do you think you could protect the entire lab from siege though? This is more than just protecting Haruka. These people are now unwilling and unknowing allies in a battle much bigger than themselves. This is a direct strike against Cipher. Whether they realize it or not. Gonzap's intentions were pure, but his execution is cruel to say the least." Takumi didn't approve, but it was also the best option. "We'll protect the people we've inadvertently endangered."

Zephyrine hadn't thought of it that way. She felt a knot in her stomach as she casually fed on food they so kindly offered her. She was just twisting the knife. "Then I'll defend every last man, woman, child, and Pokemon. They showed us actual kindness. Without asking anything in return. No ulterior motives and expect nothing in return. I'm not going to repay them with pain and suffering."

Takumi smiled, "Fight on. We're counting on you, Zeph." Takumi hung up.

"She's turned into quite the noble fighter." Ebony chuckled.

"When our backs are against the wall. That's when we show who we really are." Takumi looked out upon the village. They had plenty to protect. Darkness was looming over all of them. This light will be what will grow and eclipse the darkness.

An hour passed by in a flash for Haruka. They ran some tests and took some blood work. She laid on a hospital bed while she awaited her results. Until then they got her on the proper medications to combat her condition. She was feeling much better, but physically drained all the same.

Prof. Krane returned with several forms. "Haruka, you'll be happy to know you have a clean bill of health. The medication we'll be prescribing will have you feeling better in no time. By my guess your morning sickness should pass by the end of your second trimester."

She sighed, "That's a relief, but please tell me, prof. How is my baby?" She rubbed her stomach gingerly.

He looked down at his chart and back up at her. "The picture of health. It's a small miracle really. It's obviously too early to determine sex, but your child is well on the way to a healthy delivery. It must have strong genes." He chuckled to himself.

Haruka sighed and laid her head back on the pillow. She giggled softly as tears streamed down her face. "I'm glad. I couldn't imagine how I'd feel if something happened to her."

"_Her_?" Prof. Krane commented.

Haruka nodded, "Maternal instincts. I've always imagined having a girl. We would name her Aiko." She said the name fondly.

Prof. Krane frowned slightly. "Yes, about the father."

"It's a complicated situation. We're together. Well not married, but he'll be in our child's life. Except he's kind of elsewhere right now. He also doesn't know I'm pregnant. Did I mention it's a really complicated situation?" Haruka was embarrassed to admit all of this.

Krane chuckled once more, "Don't worry, you have plenty of time to sort that out. I just wanted to make sure you had someplace to go after this. We're happy to help, but unfortunately we're not a hotel or apartment complex."

Haruka nodded, "I know, we'll leave once I feel better. Then I'll find a proper OB GYN." She paused and thought for a moment. "Unless you're hiring." She winked.

Prof. Krane paused and laughed more audibly. "First, we accept a walk-in pregnancy examination, and now we may end up with a new lab member. I have to ask, what are your qualifications?" He figured Haruka had to be joking.

"I'm the former second in commander of Cipher's Research and Development branch. I worked under Ein for my entire life. I have studied Pokemon and humans thoroughly. While I never went to a proper university I passed the Orre Region's medical certifications test for both people and Pokemon. I also helped develop many of Cipher technology such as the visors they use and the snag machine." Haruka's expression turned serious and unyielding. She wasn't lying and wanted to emphasize that. For all intents and purposes, Haruka was a doctor.

Krane sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "So why are you here?" He didn't foresee this ending well for him.

"I was a pawn to Cipher. Ein was the one who tried to hurt my child. I will never forgive that. Cipher is everything wrong with this region. I want to finally atone for everything I did." Haruka confessed.

"I see, and your friend too?" Krane held back any criticisms.

"Zephyrine is a member of the rebellion. She helped me and Team Snagem fight off Cipher on the way here." Haruka told him.

"So, they're coming here?" Krane gritted his teeth.

"We will make sure you and your people are safe." Haruka was willing to swear on her life.

"No good deed goes unpunished I suppose." He looked Haruka in the eyes with a weary expression. "Get some sleep. We'll see what morning brings us."

"I am very sorry about all this. You've shown us more kindness than I'd ever imagine, and we're spitting in your face." Haruka felt terrible about what she'd inadvertently done, but she was going to fix this. No matter what.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. I'm glad to finally have a chance for more focus on Haruka and Zephyrine, two characters that I have wanted to make sure had more of a spotlight in the past. Zephyrine I'll admit was criminally underused until this point. Next chapter will be the annual Christmas Special, so look forward to that!


	44. Christmas Special 2016

It was the day before Christmas day in the region of Orre. Festival cheer filled the air. Everyone in the regions found themselves getting into the holidays spirit. Especially one group of friends.

"And there we go. The Staryu is on top of the tree." Ryo stepped back and admired his work. Haruka put her arms around him and admired the tree with him.

"It's beautiful." She smiled serenely as the vibrant green tree illuminated in a rainbow of color and festive cheer. "I love Christmas."

"I love you." Ryo kissed Haruka and held her close.

"Ugh this again." Mei groaned as she cared a box or ornaments.

"Nice to have you here too Scrooge." Ryo glowered.

"Sorry, I love Christmas too, even if we don't celebrate Christ's birth. Arceus's birth I guess? Either way. It's just we're stuck in another ridiculous holiday special. So no doubt the Doctor's going to come parading in like this is just a normal thing that he exists in this universe." Mei complained, sucking all the love and cheer from the room. "Also, the very annoying narrator." She said, but deep down she loved the narrator. The being that control her very reality.

"I think someone's hit the egg nog a little early." Ryo wasn't quite sure what to make of her ridiculous claims.

"This is going to suck." Is what Mei told herself before she realized this story wasn't actually about her. "Oh, thank god."

While Ryo, Mei, and Haruka were happily setting up for their festive holiday celebration, across the region another group was celebrating in a similar manner.

Cary on the back of his Braviary placed a golden star atop a huge pine tree in the center of top. "Aight, star's on. Light'er up Taku!" He called down to the base of the lush tree.

Cary landed beside Takumi who plugged two electrical cords together. In a flash hundreds of shining lights illuminated the tree is a festive brilliance. "Merry Christmas." Takumi smiled as he looked up at the tree. The perfect center piece for the town to celebrate with during the holidays.

Ebony and Wes both admired the tree. "Lovely. You really out did yourselves. Everyone will love it." Ebony was in an especially festive mood. Wearing a red dress with white at the base and around the sleeves like Santa's outfit. Completing the ensemble with a Santa hat.

Wes looked up and nodded, "Yeah it's beautiful. I can't believe you two did this all by yourselves." Wes was more than willing to lend a hand, but Takumi and Cary wanted to make this their little project. So, Wes sat back and sipped some eggnog as they worked diligently. Their little project took at least two days to complete regardless.

"What can I say, I love Christmas." Cary grinned from ear-to-ear.

Takumi looked around, "Hold on, where's Zephyrine?"

Ebony shook her head, "I haven't seen her all day."

From the window of her room Zephyrine looked out at the Christmas tree with a glower. "I hate Christmas." She sneered and closed the blinds so she didn't have to look at it. "I wish it just stopped coming."

"Now that's no way to think during the holidays." A strange voice called out from the other room.

"Who's there?" Zephyrine reached for a Pokeball.

The door flung open, "Hello I'm the Doctor." A cheerful man in a brown coat presented himself.

"Get out of my house!" Zephyrine shouted and tossed a Pokeball. "Bisharp take care of this home invader!"

The Doctor raised his arms. "No wait! I'm not a home invader. I'm the Doctor."

"Doctor Who?" The sound of a Theremin plays. "What was that?" Zephyrine both confused and more than a little bothered by her unwanted guest.

"Maybe I should explain." A young girl walked in. "Hi my name is Dawn, and my ruin companion is the Doctor."

"Excuse you, you're mine companion." Dawn elbows him in the stomach to shut him up.

"Anyway, we're here because we heard you hated Christmas." Dawn went on to explain.

"So you just break into peoples' houses to explain to them the true meaning of Christmas?" Zephyrine now had an even weird impression of them.

"No. You see this is a special case. We want to help you see the true joy that can come from the holidays." Dawn explained.

"Yeah, well I'm not interested. Christmas sucks and I will never love it."

"You didn't always hate Christmas though." The Doctor chimed in.

"Who did you know that? You some kind of creepy stalker too?" Zephyrine glared.

"No, there's a very simple explanation. I'm a time traveler." He said as if that somehow made any more sense.

"What institution did you break out of?" Zephyrine couldn't say she trusted them anymore than before.

Dawn groaned, "Please, just come with us and you'll understand."

Zephyrine felt like telling them to screw off, but she figured anything was better than just sulking in her room. "Whatever."

"Alright, off we go. Allons-y!" He ran off happily with Dawn and Zeph close behind.

"Is he always like this?" Zeph had to ask.

"Unfortunately." The two followed the Doctor.

"Alrighty then, Dawn. Are you ready?" The Doctor got into place.

"Sure am." Dawn pulled out her Pokeball. "Come on out."

"Go, Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All!" From the Doctor's Pokeball the mighty ruler of time, Dialga emerged. Dawn's the master of space, Palkia.

"Dialga and Palkia?" Zeph couldn't believe her eyes. There stood two Pokemon of myth and legend. The heralded creators of both time and space.

"Actually, she prefers Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All." The Doctor corrected Zeph.

"How do you know that?" Zeph called him out on this fact.

"I speak Pokemon. Dialga is a very sensitive lady." The Doctor affectionately rubbed Dialga's side. "Isn't that right Stormy?"

"Just… don't think about it too much. You're better off." Dawn advised. "Let's get going to our first destination."

Dialga let out a mighty roar as time warped around them. Then with a powerful slash Palkia ripped a hole in space. Reality distorted and shifted around them in a myriad of colors and figures flowed around them. Slowly, reality pieced itself back together and the three were no longer in the blistering heat of Orre, but the cool city air.

"Where are we?" The place was strange, but somehow familiar to Zephyrine.

"Castelia City just a few days before Christmas, exactly one year ago." The Doctor smiled.

Zephyrine's eyes widened, "No, get me out of here!" Zeph panicked.

"Come now Zephyrine, look how happy you are." They peered in a window to a slightly younger Zephyrine wrapping presents with a huge smile on her face. "What happened to all that festive cheer?" The Doctor asked.

The younger Zeph was wrapping gifts frantically, but she was enjoying every second of it. Boxes large and small all presented under a small, humble Christmas tree. "We didn't have a lot of money. I saved up for months to get her those gifts. It was going to be the perfect Christmas."

Younger Zephyrine's X-Transceiver rang. "Hello?" Zeph paused as she reexperienced everything from that might all over again. Her younger self frozen in terror as she dropped her X-Transceiver. Forgetting to grab her jacket, or lock the door on her way out, her younger self ran out the door through the streets of the giant city.

"Doctor, what's going on?" Dawn started to panic.

"I don't know, I thought this was a happier time."

"Did you not see it all the way through to the end?" Dawn smacked him on the back of the head.

"Ow don't blame me!" As if there was anyone else to blame.

Younger Zeph rushed to the hospital. She ran through the crowded halls of the hospital. Pushing past all the doctors and security. "Shyama!" She cried out as she entered one of the sectioned off wards. "Shyama!" The sounds of infants crying filled her eyes as she charged down the hall. She finally stopped in one room. "Shyama!" Her already red eyes, stung redder as tears poured down her face. She walked over to the bed and collapsed to her knees from exhaustion and overwhelming sadness. A blanket rested over a teenage girl's body.

"Oh my god." Dawn cupped her mouth in horror.

"Let's get out of here. Thanks for letting me relive this, jackass." Zephyrine walked past the Doctor with her arms crossed and her head sunk low.

"What do we do now Doctor?" Dawn felt awful about what just happened.

"Don't worry, I have another plan." The Doctor ran off after Zeph. "Wait up, that was just part one of our grand adventure." The Doctor said with a sense of excitement and wonder.

"Oh god, it gets worse?" Zeph already had to relive that horrible experience. What could be next?

"Hey. Now this next one I know you'll love. Stormy!" Dialga emerged once more with Palkia. Freely warping time and space, moving them to another place and point in time. "Here we are!" As reality formed around them, they appeared in a large train.

"A train ride?" Needless to say, but Zeph was not impressed.

"Aw, but look outside." The Doctor motioned to the window.

Outside was a winter wonderland where children ran around opening their presents with wide smiles. From the window they saw the sight of Santa Delibird and his Winter Forme Sawsbuck flying through the air spreading Christmas cheer. "You see? We're aboard the Polar Express!" The Doctor was absolutely giddy.

Zeph groaned and sat down. "Do you really think seeing a bunch of children having fun and opening gifts would somehow fill me with the Christmas spirit? This isn't some cheap Christmas Special Doctor." Zeph glared at him. "Santa can't bring them back. No amount of well-wishing or sickeningly sweet Christmas cheer can change that. So just take me back and leave me the hell alone."

The Doctor slumped his shoulders and had Dialga and Palkia return them back to Orre. He had hoped if he showed Zeph some of the true joys of Christmas that she'd cheer right up. Turns out it was more complicated than that.

They returned at the same point they originally left. Zephyrine quickly climbed on her bed and laid down. "Get out of here." She said coldly.

"Let's go Doctor." Dawn figured Zeph just wanted to be alone.

As they walked out the rest of the rebels walked up to them. "Hey it's Dawn and the Doctor." Wes recognized them immediately. After last year's incident with Go-Rock Squad it was hard to forget.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Ebony asked.

"We were trying to show Zephyrine the true meaning of Christmas, but I think we made it worse." Dawn sank her head in disappointment.

"Here, maybe we can help." Wes walked up to Zephyrine's door and knocked.

"Doctor if that's you again I swear to god I'm whipping out Hydreigon." She threatened.

"It's me." Wes called back.

Zeph opened the door and saw everyone gathered around. "Don't tell me, he got you all in on this now." She rolled her eyes.

"Come with us." Wes said and led her out of the house and towards the center of town where people gathered to place gifts under the Christmas tree. "I know it's early, but here." He reached down and pulled out his gift to her. The others quickly followed suit.

"Guys, this isn't about gifts." She reluctantly opened them.

"Yeah we know." Cary watched as Zeph opened her gifts. They were perfect. She was actually surprised how well suited all the gifts were. They really knew her well. It got a smile out of her. "We don't do this for the gifts. It's for the cheer and happiness that comes from it. We know ya lost a lot Zeph, but you've gotta new family in us. Like it er not." Cary let out a soft chuckle.

"We all know a thing or two about loss, that's why we're here together now." Takumi explained.

"Instead of letting the past haunt you, look forward and make new, happy memories." Wes patted her on the shoulder.

"You don't have to bare this alone." Ebony gave Zeph a warm hug as Cary and the others joined in.

"Guys." A tear streamed down Zeph's face. "You all are way too sappy." She laughed as they did too. "Sorry I got so mopey. Must have been annoying." Zeph didn't want to show how she really felt in front of them, so she put on a tough face. Still, in her heart she was overwhelmed with joy.

They all gathered inside and had a Christmas party. The Doctor and Dawn were more than welcome to join them. They made sure to have plenty of food, snacks, and egg nog for all.

"I love all the decorations." Dawn marveled at all the hard work. A smaller Christmas tree stood as the center piece in the room. A true labor of love.

"Takumi and Cary love Christmas decorating." Ebony giggled.

"Ho ho ho." Cary came out dressed like Santa just like the year before.

Dawn and Ebony laughed, "Oh look up." She shot Dawn a coy smile.

Dawn panicked, knowing what Ebony was talking about. "Oh no, mistletoe. We'll just pretend we didn't see it." Before Dawn could get away Ebony gave her a peck on the cheek.

"I don't discriminate. Merry Christmas." Ebony sauntered off while Dawn stood paralyzed and bright red.

"Did this help at all?" Wes sat down next to Zeph.

She nodded, "Yeah, it's not something I think I'll ever really get over, but if things like these can remind me of the good things I do have in my life, then I think I'll be fine."

"She'd want you to be happy. Not constantly mourning her loss." Wes explained.

"Yeah. I know." Zeph nodded and watched everyone having fun. "I have you all to thank for this. The Doctor and Dawn too, I guess. They really tried. This really has been a Merry Christmas." Zephyrine smiled and watched everyone celebrating with jovial Christmas cheer. It was a magical time that came, but a once a year. So why not celebrate to the fullest? It's what Shyama would have wanted her to do.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Winter Solstice, Happy Holidays to all. To keep in theme with what was going on in the canon I figured a chapter devoted to Zephyrine and growing her character would be appropriate. So I hope you all enjoyed that as much as I did.


	45. Chapter 41: Darkest Before Dawn

Chapter 41: Darkest Before Dawn

The sun over Orre slowly rose. Zephyrine awoke feeling refreshed and energized. Something she hadn't felt a lot in her life. Even if the house she was occupying in Aragite had a comfortable bed, she felt like they could be attacked at any point.

The sad reality was that the Pokemon Coordination Lab wasn't much safer with them there. Yet Zephyrine felt so relieved just to sleep on the soft plush bed they provided to her. Such selfless people. It was more than she deserved. It was all for Haruka, but in the end, they did it in the foulest way possible. Freely endangering the lives of others just for Haruka. Without the poor people of the lab even knowing.

After Haruka's examination with Prof. Krane, Zephyrine had went to check on her. Haruka told her that Krane knew everything, it would have been unfair to leave him in the dark. He promised not to tell anyone else. He was a kind man. More than either of the deserved.

Zephyrine walked through the halls of the lab towards the cafeteria. She tried guilting herself out of eating their food, but she needed all the energy she could get to fight off Cipher and Sinclair's liberators. She hoped Cary, Wes, and Team Snagem weren't too far behind, or being pursued by Cipher well into the night.

She walked up to the cafeteria line and grabbed a tray. Her head downcast and frowning. Her worry was all over her face. "What's the matter dear?" Zephyrine looked up towards the friendly face of one of the chefs. A woman with soft eyes and an incurable smile. "You look so down, what's the matter?"

Zephyrine shook her head, "It's nothing." She reached for some food and put it on her plate.

"Now, now. I know better than that. I heard all about you and your friend. The professor said she'll be just fine, and to treat you both as guests." The chef helped fill Zephyrine's plate.

"It's more than we deserve." Why was everyone here so friendly? Zephyrine couldn't understand it.

"Dear, times are hard for all of us. That's why all of us here at the Pokemon HQ stick together and help each other out. We all know how harsh Orre can be, especially with Cipher around. Don't be afraid to ask for anything you need." The chef's words moved Zephyrine.

She smiled, "Thank you." Zephyrine felt a free meal was more than enough, so she took a seat by the window and started eating. The horizon was clear so far. Maybe she could enjoy a small semblance of peace for once? It was a fleeting peace, but Zephyrine felt relieved, if even for a moment.

The cafeteria filled up with more and more lab members in the early hours. Many of them grabbing breakfast before a long day's work. She saw a wide variety of people in the lab, many of them didn't even seem native to Orre, which made Zephyrine wonder who in their right mind would willingly come to the Orre region with Cipher running around.

It was strange though, to her they all looked- happy. It was almost unexplainable. Zephyrine saw a man and woman walk up together, casually chatting away as they grabbed food. They smiled and took seats across from one another. Zephyrine noticed the glistening of rings on their fingers. A married couple. That itself wasn't strange obviously, but it was still so different from what she was used to seeing in Orre. The slums of Castelia City weren't much different. Was this normal?

Zephyrine's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a tray being set down across from hers. She looked up at a bright, beaming face of a girl. She didn't look any older than Zephyrine herself. "Hi!" She bubbly girl said.

Zephyrine knew she would immediately regret talking to her. Maybe if she sat really still and not even register her she'd just walk away. Zephyrine had to let go of some of her anti-social tendencies here. For once she was somewhere that there wasn't anyone out to get her. "Hi." She returned the courtesy.

The girl sat down with her million-watt smile brighter than her lab coat. It was sweet in a diabetic way, Zephyrine thought. "I heard we had guests to the lab. I figured it was just some more scientists, but you don't look like a scientist." The girl observed.

"What do I look like?" Zephyrine lowered her sunglasses, flashing her piercing, red eyes. Maybe she could just whip out her crazy eyes and the girl would go away?

She winced, "Like you're going to snap me in half." She sheepishly sank into her seat and nibbled nervously on her food. "I mean normal red eye affects the sclera, but you've just got red irises. That's pretty interesting. In a probably-going-to-throat-punch-me kind of way."

"You're getting warmer." Zephyrine readjusted her sunglasses and kept eating. From the corner of Zephyrine's eyes she could see the poor girl was frazzled. She shifted back and scooted out her seat. "Wait." Zephyrine held out her hand. "I'm not going to throat punch you."

The girl paused and pulled her seat back in. "Oh, glad we're on- non-throating punching terms." She ran her hands through her tangled black hair. Zephyrine couldn't help noticed her wild mane. She probably had more knots than Zephyrine did.

"Name's Zephyrine. Everyone calls me Zeph, or crazy eyes." She smirked up at the girl.

"Oh, I'm Noa. People call me- Noa. I'm one of the scientists here."

Zephyrine gave Noa a skeptical look. The tangled hair, bleary eyes, a lab coat clearly a few sizes too big, and that incurable smile. "Sure you are." Probably just one of the lab member's daughters playing dress up.

"I am!" Noa protested in a way that seemed almost natural looking at first glance. Zephyrine had a feeling Noa was used to defending her position at the lab. She pulled out a large folder she was sitting on. Zephyrine noticed Noa was shorted than she'd originally thought. "See?"

Zephyrine paged through a few of the reports. "This means nothing to me." She was by no means a scientist like Haruka, but she wasn't dumb either. Whatever Noa had was either really complicated or total gibberish. Zephyrine was willing to bet on the latter.

"It's a complex study I've been working all for a year now." Noa puffed out her chest proudly.

"How do I know it's not just Lorem Ipsum?" Zephyrine flashed a sneaky grin.

Noa looked shocked, "You think I'm lying? I'll have you know this is a very in depth research thesis on Shadow Pokemon purification. Prof. Krane even told me once, 'That's a very interesting theory Noa'."

"Even your impersonation sound's condescending." Zephyrine stopped teasing the poor maybe scientist. "Still, that's an interesting idea. How would you purify a Shadow Pokemon?" Zephyrine couldn't help be curious.

Noa had the upper hand now. "I'll tell you, but only if you acknowledge me as a lab member."

"Fine, you're a lab member. Whatever. Just tell me." Zephyrine just let Noa have her moment. All to further her understand of what could be a breakthrough in fighting Team Cipher.

"I still have a few gaps I need to fill in, but I hypothesized that the shadowification process requires the Pokemon being synergized with a dark aura. By that logic the dark aura can be extracted. I have another idea though. Shadow aura can actually be weakened and with the right energy, completely defused. So, the shadow energy breaks apart and expelled from the Pokemon's body. Opening its heart." Opening and closing a Pokemon's heart was metaphorical, but it got the point across. Pokemon were ripped of their free will and emotions. Apathetic fighting machines. That's what Shadow Pokemon were.

Zephyrine nodded, "What information are missing?" She couldn't help wonder if there was some merit to Noa's hypothesis.

"Right now, exactly how Shadow Pokemon are made. As well as the energy we'd need to purify them." Noa's head sank in disappoint. Her theory's most crucial parts.

"I can answer one of those questions for you. Or someone I know can." Zephyrine knew exactly who to ask.

"You do?" Noa reached over the table. Taking Zephyrine's hands into her own small hands. Her eyes lit up like she'd just found the salvation she needed.

Zephyrine pulled her hands away and wiped them against her lap. "Yeah, let me finish breakfast and I can take you to her. If she's awake." Zephyrine casually ate away while Noa practically inhaled her food. She smiled so wide that Zephyrine wondered if maybe her face froze that way.

Haruka didn't envy Prof. Krane and his fellow lab members. They had a very hard job, if not for the environment, then Cipher's dark hand influencing the region. She was surprised they'd left the Pokemon Coordination Lab alone all this time. That was about to change unfortunately.

Still, Haruka couldn't help think of her own situation. Everything around her reminded her of her own desperation. She wasn't in a simple hospital bed. She was in a white, titled room, countless holes filled the recess ceiling she stared blankly up at. The white of the room was almost unnatural. Not a soft white, but a harsh, sterile white. Clean to a fault one could say. As if she existed solely in a bubble. It was for her own well-being, as well as the well-being of her baby.

The baby she for so long didn't even know was inside her. Now she couldn't imagine a world without her. She hasn't even met her yet, but she already loved her with all her heart. Haruka didn't even have a confirmation it was a her, but in her heart Haruka knew. "Aiko." She whispered sweetly as she rubbed her stomach.

Prof. Krane was a miracle worker, Haruka was feeling one hundred percent better. She was still weak, but a nurse brought her plenty of nutrient enriched food to help her and the baby. She needed it. She'd felt like she hadn't eaten in days. She couldn't even remember her last wholesome mean. Maybe it had been days even?

So much was happening, her own health was an afterthought. She was grateful to all the members of the lab for letting them in, Team Snagem for rescuing her, the rebellion for protecting her, and especially Zephyrine. At first glance, Haruka would have pegged as any other street thug, but Zephyrine showed she was a trusted ally. Even a friend.

Haruka's focus broke from the ceiling when she heard a knocking from the door. "Come in." She said quietly. Propping herself up against the pillows.

Zephyrine walked in with Noa close in toe. "How are ya doing?"

Haruka smiled, "A lot better, thank you."

Zephyrine gave a shy smile. "Glad to hear it."

"Who's your friend?" Haruka turned her attention towards Noa who stood behind Zephyrine with a very excitable look.

"Her name's Noa. She's one of the lab member's kids." Zephyrine shrugged.

"Hey, we agreed I was a lab member myself!" Noa protested like their spoken agreement was law.

"Just tell her about your idea." Zephyrine rolled her eyes and took a seat in one of the chair next to Haruka's bed. Her attention now pointed squarely outside.

At the same time, Prof. Krane walked in. "Noa, what are you doing in here? I hope she isn't bothering you."

"No, I was just about to tell her about my theory on how to purify shadow Pokemon." Noa waved her large folder.

Haruka heard this and was immediately interested. The girl did not look like a lab member. She was very young in the face, about as short as Mei, she couldn't be any older than Zephyrine herself. Haruka humored her though.

Prof. Krane shook his head. "Noa, please. Haruka is resting."

"No, I actually want to hear this. Please tell me, Noa." Haruka gave her a warm, reassuring smile.

Noa was giddy. She explained in depth what her hypothesis was. Haruka listening intently the whole time.

"I hope she isn't being a bother. Noa's heart is in the right place. All of our research suggests this couldn't work though." Prof. Krane put a hand on Noa's shoulder.

Haruka shook her head, "No, if I were to pursue purification that's exactly how I'd do it. She's right about the incubation process. Shadow energy is pumped into a container the Pokemon is stored in. From there the shadow energy is bonded to their body. So, the best way to remove it is to not remove the impurities, but to break it a part. Like destabilizing a molecular bond. Shadow energy can't be detoxed out of a Pokemon's system. You'd need something to generate enough energy to break the bond of shadow energy. Destabilizing it and freeing the Pokemon." Haruka's explanation sounded more like chemical decomposition. Like using heat to turn an ice cube into water. Then applying more heat to vaporize the water.

Zephyrine was officially lost, but Noa was beaming like a ten-million-watt bulb now. "I knew it! I knew it!" She ran over and threw her arms around Zephyrine.

"Thank you, Zeph! Thank you, Haruka!" She squeezed her tight.

"Let me go!" Zephyrine tried prying Noa off of her. "I didn't do anything. I will throat punch you!" Zephyrine let out a gasp of air as Noa squeezed her.

"Not true, if you didn't introduce me to Haruka then I would never had anyone to confirm my hypothesis." Noa's hug was unrelenting.

"We still need to find that missing component though." Haruka turned back to Prof. Krane. "You have a good lab member on your hands Krane."

He sighed and rubbed Noa's head. "I must admit. I would never had believed her. I'm sorry Noa. You were right. Your mother and father will be very excited to hear about this."

"It's all thanks to my new best friend." She continued to smother Zephyrine in affection.

"Can't breathe-" Zephyrine started gasping for air. "Not best friend-"

Noa eventually released her death grip on Zephyrine. "Will she become one of our lab members?"

Prof. Krane looked over at Haruka with a smile, "We'll see."

Zephyrine looked outside and saw a motorcycle riding up on the horizon. "Wes is here finally." She hopped out of her seat and ran out the door.

Noa not far behind. "Zeph wait for me!" Chasing her for no apparent reason.

Wes pulled up, drawing in quite a bit of attention to himself. Rightfully so, to them he could be a Cipher agent. Much to Wes's relief Zephyrine was there to greet him. He hopped off his bike and looked around.

"Haruka's fine, but we have no idea when Cipher might try rearing their ugly heads." Zephyrine was waiting to hear from Cary or Takumi and Ebony.

"Cary called me on the way, said he's not far. Probably less than a half hour out by this point." Wes looked around at the lab. He got a few skeptical looks, but he wasn't starting trouble so the rest of the lab members went on about their business.

"Wait, what's this about Cipher?" Noa began to panic.

"Who's your friend?" Wes looked down at the wannabe lab member.

"Ignore her. We're going to need all hands-on deck. Cipher will be coming in hard and fast. No doubt Sinclair and the OLG will be close behind too." Zephyrine warned.

"Yeah this place is about to turn into a war zone." Wes gritted his teeth. He hated dragging all the bystanders into this, but they didn't have much choice at this point. "We can bunker down at the forest's entrance. That way we can at least stop them from getting to the lab and Haruka."

Zephyrine shook her head, "No, they'll probably have Pokemon scouting ahead. They'll see us and reroute around us. Remember, they want Haruka. So, blind siding us and going straight for the lab would be the first thing they would think of. Plus, I'm not leaving Haruka unguarded."

"Okay so guard the perimeter. It's not ideal, but I want to minimize damage and avoid casualties at all cost." Wes already didn't agree with how Snagem decided to handle this situation, but there was nothing they could do about that right now.

"Same here." Zephyrine confirmed their plan of action.

"What is going on here?" Noa was getting more and more worried.

"Noa, get back in the lab and go hide. Things are going to get pretty dangerous here soon." Zephyrine pointed to the lab.

"What? Why? Why is Team Cipher on the way? We haven't done anything to them." Noa panicked.

"You're harboring one of their former higher ups. Haruka escaped Cipher and now they want her back." Wes hated being the bearer of bad news. "Plus, now you guys are technically colluding with both Team Snagem and the rebellion."

Noa covered her mouth and looked at Zephyrine in astonishment. Zephyrine couldn't meet her gaze. The look of betrayal Noa had made her feel even worse. "I trusted you." Her voice cracked.

"You don't even know me! I'm a total stranger, but for some stupid reason you trusted me." She stared at the ground as she berated Noa. Trying to fight back tears. This was a miserable feeling ate away at Zephyrine. "Only an idiot judges people at face value!"

"Maybe I am an idiot, but I still believe in the basic good of others. Even here in Orre." Noa's voice shook as she balled her fist.

"Basic good? In Orre? Open your eyes! Those two things can never coexist! You dumbass!" Zephyrine stomped her foot.

"Zeph!" Wes had enough, she'd taken it a step too far. Hearing that Noa looked crushed. She burst into tears and ran off into the lab crying. Utterly betrayed.

"I'm a piece of shit. I know it." Tears streamed down Zephyrine's face. She'd never felt so bad for hurting someone's feelings. She reveled in insulting and demeaning the people of the Deep Colosseum.

Wes patted her on the back. "You can fix that later. For now, we need to focus on keeping this place safe." He started walking off. Wes figured Zephyrine didn't want to him seeing her wallow in her own selfish mistake. He stopped briefly, not looking back at her. He just had this to say, "By the way, you're wrong about one thing. There are people in Orre who still believe in the basic good of others. People who strive to know this region can and will change for the better. I don't know how you could be so stupid to forget, because you're one of them."

"No I'm not." Zephyrine shook her head. She never believed in herself or others. She wasn't a good person.

"Then why out of all of us have you been so protective of Haruka? Why did you stick your neck out to save her? If you didn't think she was a good person, you'd still be doubting her." Wes left her with that and headed into the lab. He needed to confer with Haruka and whoever was in charge.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. I feel like Noa would be a character most likely to appear in Tia's Tales, but that just shows the tonal difference, and general vibe of the Pokemon HQ versus the rest of Cipher. Regardless, she's a character I'm glad I introduced to the series. Being both a friend and a foil to Zephyrine.


	46. Chapter 42: Dawn of a New Day

Chapter 42: Dawn of a New Day

"So, that's our situation." Wes explained every last detail, alongside Haruka, to Prof. Krane.

He frowned, "I told your friend already we're happy to help. You understand that are generosity will only go so far."

"We're not asking for anything in return. Just please help Haruka." Wes lowered his head. "In exchange. No. You could throw us all out right now, but we'll still protect the lab. We had no right doing this to you and your people."

"No you did not, but you two are honest and have owned up to your mistakes. We're all facing very difficult times right now. I wouldn't feel right turning Haruka away. Especially after you and Noa came up with a plan to purify the Shadow Pokemon."

Wes looked over at Haruka with great surprise. This was exactly what they needed. If they could find a way to free the Shadows, then there was a chase they could finally pull away some of Cipher's influence. They would need a lab though, no doubt this lab. Which meant dragging the Pokemon Coordination Lab in deeper.

They could no longer be seen as innocent bystanders caught up in Team Snagem's plan. No, they'd be directly meddling in Cipher's affairs. Though part of Wes had a feeling they'd turn their attention to the Pokemon HQ eventually anyway. It may be a blessing that Gonzap chose them, otherwise Cipher could have chosen to ransack them whenever they wanted. They were secluded and security would have seen Cipher coming, but they weren't equipped to battle.

"That's huge, but it paints an even bigger target on your backs." Prof. Krane had to know that. Wes would love to see such a project succeed, but there was still the fear of what Cipher would do the second they found out their ace in the hole was being countered. They'd strike in force; the lab would become yet another group destroyed to show the region and the world what happened when people opposed Cipher.

For the time being Wes put that thought out of his mind. His X-Transceiver rang. "Cary?" Wes nodded and just as quickly as he answered, he hung up and stepped out. Cary and Snagem arrived to even more skepticism. Surely the lab had never received this much attention. What's more, Snagem was the kind of attention they wanted. "We you followed?" Wes got right down to business.

"Nice ta see ya too, man." Cary hopped out of the convoy and gave Wes a rough handshake and pat on the back. "Nah, we lost'em, but I doubt that'll buy us much time. They'd been hot on our heels until they decided to fall back." Cary saw all the not so inviting faces.

"Where's Haruka and Zeph?" Gonzap stepped out. His presence was looming and demanding. A tall and very built man. Gonzap stood out quite a bit from the rest of his agents.

"They're both inside. She got a clean bill of health and is resting right now. Prof. Krane said she'll be fine. The baby too."

Gonzap looked very noticeably relieved. "Thank goodness. I wouldn't know how to respond if the worst really happened."

"Your golden goose is fine." Wes crossed his arms and met Gonzap's intense gaze. Even in his relief Gonzap commanded that same powerful presence. His eyes were still just a sharp and cold. Wes didn't like that look.

Gonzap sighed mournfully. "Please don't think of it like that. I'm a selfish man. I did a selfish thing to help someone. Someone I selfishly wanted to use. Haruka was an asset and a tool, but something changed the more and more I used her. I began to care for her like one of my own. So I may have manipulated this fine people, but no it was for her sake. Not my own desires."

Wes listened to Gonzap's words. He took every critique Wes could have possibly thrown at him. "You're more honest than I thought you would be. It takes a big man to admit to all of that."

"It takes a small man to do what I did." Gonzap knew what he did was wrong. Yet he did it anyway. He called it selfish, but Wes something else. Selflessness. At least, that was what Gonzap was attempting. He risked s much transporting Haruka somewhere safe to get her the proper care she needed. That was selfless if Wes had ever seen it.

Professor Krane walked out behind Wes and cleared his throat. "Gentleman."

Gonzap looked down at the professor and have a respectful nod, "Professor. Don't worry, once any Cipher threat is neutralized, we will leave. Then you will never see us again."

Professor Krane nodded. The idea of being rid of anyone who casted Cipher's attention on them was promising, but at the same time if what Haruka and Wes told him were true, then Team Snagem and the rebellion may be Orre's only real chance at finally defeating Cipher. He didn't hold his breath though.

Wes wanted to make sure Cary was in battling condition. "How are your Pokemon?"

"They're fine. Imma heal them up a bit, but we're good. How's everything here?" Cary was glad to see the place hadn't been completely overrun yet.

"What about you? You going to be fine?" Cary's well-being was just as important as his Pokemon's. All the agents were looking a bit tired.

"I could stand a few winks, but I ain't complainin'. What bout you? Ya drove through the night from what Eb and Taku told me." A lot of them were running on fumes at this point. Zephyrine was well rested, but she was about the only one operating at full capacity.

"I'll be fine." Wes wasn't too concerned with himself though. All he wanted was to deal with the threat at hand and be done with it.

"Where's Zeph? Figured she'd be out here with you?" Cary didn't see her blue hair, or violent red eyes anywhere.

"I don't know, probably with Haruka." Wes didn't want to think about her right now. Zephyrine's brazen outburst at Noa still had him frustrated.

From Haruka's room she laid back while trying to recover quickly. It was for her benefit and the benefit of everyone else if she at one hundred percent as soon as possible. "Shouldn't you be out there with them?" Haruka looked at Zephyrine, who was curled up in a ball on a seat.

She glanced out the window. "Someone has to protect you. Guess it should be me." She wouldn't admit it, but Haruka tell Zephyrine was pouting about something.

"What's wrong Zeph? You're pouting." Haruka smiled, hoping to cheer her up.

"I'm not pouting." She defiantly looked away and buried her head deep in her knees to hide a slight blush across her face.

Haruka rolled her eyes and smiled at the young trainer. "Come on, how are you going to protect me if your moping like this?" Not that Haruka felt she needed protecting to begin with. Zephyrine's strength were much more useful on the frontlines than as a last line of defense.

"Noa was getting on my nerves." Zephyrine left it at that. She wasn't about to tell Haruka how she yelled at her and made her cry.

Haruka gave a slight frown, "Really, and you two were getting along so well too."

"She's annoying. She so upbeat and happy. Completely naïve to the shithole that's all around her. World's not all sunshine and rainbows." Zephyrine squeezed her legs tighter together. Zephyrine wished she did throat punch her.

No. No she didn't. She couldn't. She wouldn't. "I'm jealous myself."

Zephyrine looked up. "Jealous of what? Living a sheltered life? Sign me up. Put me in a bubble full of happiness and all that crap until I'm literally drowning in joyful lies."

"She's not blind Zeph. She knows what's happening. She might not be caught up in it with the rest of us, but the people he still live in constant fear that someday Cipher will attack. The difference is, they don't let it beat them down." Haruka hoped this was getting through to Zephyrine. "Noa's no different. She may have had a way better life growing up, but it had its own hardships too. I'm sure."

"Can't she just be miserable like the rest of us." Zephyrine complained.

"That's a terrible thing to say." She knew Zephyrine didn't actually mean it, but she wasn't going to let that one slide.

Zephyrine groaned softly. "I'm a terrible person."

"God, you're moping more than I did. Zeph, pick yourself up and accept things for better or worse. Sulking isn't going to change a thing." Haruka knew the feeling. Dread, hopelessness, and a desire to give up. Zephyrine's faith that they could stop Cipher was slipping. The way she scolded Noa psyched Zephyrine out herself.

Zephyrine looked up at Haruka who was still giving her a reassuring smile. "You're right." Zephyrine looked out the window and saw a vague shape in the distance. She narrowed her gaze and shifted her eyes to Haruka.

"Go, they'll need you more." Haruka had the face of determination. She sat up and looked out the window when Zephyrine ran by. Zephyrine paused and turned back to Haruka. She quickly threw her arms around Haruka. Silently hugging her. Haruka smiled and rubbed the top of her head. "Be careful."

"You too." Zephyrine let go and ran out the door.

Outside Cary, Wes, and Gonzap were rallying the agents and getting into position. "Espeon. Umbreon." Wes stood by the main entry. Zephyrine came running out. "Zeph. I want you on the western perimeter. Cary's got the East, and Gonzap's with me."

"Got it." Zephyrine made a beeline. The facility had a west wing where a lot of important research on Shadow Pokemon purification was being conducted. Whether Zephyrine realized it or not, that was one of the most pivotal parts of the lab.

On the main front, Cipher was coming in fast. Numerous vehicles filled with grunts poured out and readied to battle. Team Snagem was ready too. Wes and Gonzap stared down the men and waited for someone to make the first move.

One of the grunts walked out with a strange disk. He set it on the ground and connected it to a small laptop. The device powered on and generated a hologram of a tall, looming figure with serpentine hair. "Gonzap, and one of Takahata's dogs." It was Nascour, and he looked as menacing as always.

"Nascour, couldn't be bothered to show up in person?" Gonzap felt like he should be insulted, but at the same time Nascour was the last person he'd want to battle right now.

"No, lucky for you." His unnaturally, solid red eyes narrowed on the two of them. "I will give you exactly one chance to hand over Haruka, or my men will turn this entire facility into ash."

"First I gotta know. What happened to the clowns that let my men and me waltz in and take Haruka?" Gonzap reveled in a chance to finally gloat in front of Team Cipher.

Nascour let out a menacing groan. "Not that it's any business of yours, but they were reprimanded appropriately. If you're looking for a 'good job' I'm afraid you're going to have to look elsewhere. Now, Haruka."

"Not happening." Wes stepped in. Not afraid to meet Nascour's terrifying gaze.

"Then you and everyone else here will perish. Men, destroy everything." Nascour's transmission ended. Without hesitation Cipher grunts called out their Pokemon.

Hundreds of Pokemon emerging all at once. The numbers were immediately overwhelming, but Team Snagem was ready. "Hyper Beam!" Gonzap shouted. From the roof of the lab his Gyarados flew out and fired a beam of raw destructive energy. "Now!"

Snagem agents threw all their Pokemon into the fray with Gonzap's Pokemon. "You too Espeon and Umbreon!" Finally, Wes had a chance to put all that training he'd put himself through.

Wes's X-Transceiver rang. "Yo Wes, Clair and his buddies are coming up on my end. Brace ya self. I'll fight'em off the best I can, but I ain't exactly havin a picnic over 'ere."

"Hold down the best you can Cary. We'll thin out the crowd and send men your way." Wes didn't know if more would be coming, but crowd control on their end was faring better than originally expected. He couldn't guarantee how long that would last though. Wes found a moment to report in with Zephyrine. "Zeph, how's it going on your end?"

"Brutal, Cipher's breathing down our necks and the OLG hopped in the fray too." Zephyrine was under a lot more pressure than Wes was surprisingly.

"Wait, they're coming from the West too?" A pincer maneuver. This wasn't good. Which raised an even more important question. "We have to find Sinclair." Wes waited for a response, but Zephyrine said nothing. "Zeph?"

"I found him." Her expression was flat and stoic. She stood in front of the main who orchestrated an amazingly well coordinated hostage situation that even shocked Cipher. A true monster. A _man of the people_, he so claims.

"Hello. I'm afraid we never got properly introduced. I am Sinclair, and this is my mighty legion of liberators. We will be taking Haruka. She is instrumental is finally liberating Orre." He spoke so calmly. His words were sickening sweet and full of lies. His _liberation_ was no better than Cipher's oppression.

"I don't buy it for a second." Zephyrine wasn't so naively. She had her objective. Protect the people of this lab, and keep Haruka safe. "Bisharp use Swords Dance." Her Pokemon was at the ready.

Sinclair sighed, "So difficult." He raised his arm and motioned for him men to unleash their Pokemon. "You brought this upon yourself. Men, eliminate her. Actually. Capture her, she'll be a lovely solider in our fight to liberate the region."

"Who are you calling lovely?" Zephyrine flashed a wicked smile. "When I wipe out your grunts I'm throat punching your smug ass." Zephyrine cracked her knuckles. "Night Slash Bisharp."

Zephyrine felt like she had nothing to worry about. But she knew Sinclair was much stronger than he looked. He led them after all, so he had to have incredibly powerful Pokemon at his disposal. Though, for some reason Sinclair wasn't concerned with battling Zephyrine.

"What's the matter? Not interested in battling today?" Zephyrine knew something had to be up. She taunted him regardless, but something wasn't right.

Sinclair shook his head, "No, I'm merely waiting for the right moment."

Zephyrine's interrupted by the sound of glass shattering. "Oh no!" Her blood ran cold. They were brute forcing their way through the back. "Wes!" She held up her X-Transceiver, but before she could alert him a Magnemite floated up and zapped her device.

"Now, now. We wouldn't want any party crashes now would we." Sinclair grinned an evil smile. Winning the upper hand.

"Zeph? Zeph!" Wes cried out through the device. All her heard was Zeph calling out to him, static, then dead air. It chilled him to the bone. He knew what Sinclair was capable of. He couldn't stick around the frontlines any longer. He needed to fight by Zephyrine's side.

"Wes look alive. We've got back up." Right when Wes was about to act Gonzap delivered the last bit of news he wanted to hear.

"Cary!" Wes cried out over his device.

"Wes, man. I'm sorry. They got us pinned. Ya gonna haveta handle that one ya selves."

"Sinclair is attacking the other side of the building. I think he did something to Zeph. I can't check for myself. I need someone to help her." Wes couldn't pull himself away and neither could Cary. He could only hope Zephyrine could handle herself.

Bisharp went flying through the large glass pane to the lab. "Bisharp no!" She called back her Pokemon and sent out her next. "Krookodile! Bulk Up!" Zephyrine was facing increasing resistance. Snagem agents were falling left and right. Sinclair was pushing her back more and more into the facility. The Orre Liberation Group could overrun the lab any second now.

"Rattata use Scratch!" A small Rattata leaped into the fray. Unsurprisingly the small Pokemon got batted away without a second thought. Zephyrine looked back, her blood running cold.

"Noa what the hell are you doing?" Zephyrine couldn't believe what she was seeing. "I told you to hide, you dumbass!"

"Yell at me all you want. I want to protect my home too." Noa obstinately stood her ground.

"You'll get crushed by them! I don't even think I can beat them!" Zephyrine ran over and stepped between Noa and Sinclair.

"Oh, she does care. How precious." Sinclair laughs. "Give up and I won't touch a hair on her head."

"That would mean giving up Haruka." Zephyrine couldn't accept either option.

Back on the frontlines, the vehicle finally grinded to a halt in front of the crowd. More Cipher grunt poured out, but they stood in attention of someone. A girl finally stepped out. A girl with very long, very pink hair.

"Well looks like I arrived just in time." Her voice was bubbly and giddy. She spoke I na very sing song tone. As if she was playing a game.

"Who are you?" Wes had never seen her before.

"So with Haruka out of the picture, Cipher had to start scraping the bottom of the barrel?" Gonzap crossed his arms. Not threatened by her in the least.

"Shut it old man!" She stomped her foot. "I am the lovely and gorgeous Lovrina." She winked.

"Beauty's in the eye of the behold I guess." Wes wasn't sure what to make of her. He wasn't letting his guard down either way.

"What was that you ugly- actually. You're kind of cute." She winked.

Wes grimaced. "We're not handing over Haruka."

"Good, I wanted to battle. As one of Cipher's newest Admins. I have a lot to prove. So come on cutie." Lovrina gave Wes a come-hither stare and motioned him forward with her finger.

"I'll be by your side. Unless you think you can handle her, lover boy." Gonzap couldn't resist.

"I think I liked being hunted by Mei better." Wes groaned.

"Go on my Meganium! Let's show him what we're made of." She giggled.

"Yanma. Let's end this quickly." Wes couldn't afford to let her pass. Haruka was counting on him. She was counting on all of them.

Haruka was counting on all of them. She sat idly watching the battle unfold. She was feeling sick to her stomach just watching all the pain everyone was enduring for her. Alarms began to sound.

"Haruka!" Prof. Krane came in looking very distressed. "The Pokemon Liberation Group was spotted on the first floor of the west wing. We have to escape with you."

"Escape with me?" Haruka wasn't sure what his plans were.

Prof. Krane nodded, "Yes, it was our orders. They promised us they'd protect everyone, but you need to come too. The situation is getting dire."

Haruka clenched her blanket. She couldn't believe all the destruction being left in her wake and all she's doing is running. Running again. Being carted around away from Cipher and the OLG. She steady got to her feet and grabbed her equipment. "Go on Professor."

"What?"

"Go. I'm not running anymore." Haruka stepped out. Her head began to spin, but she kept her balance. She walked down the halls and down the stairs to the main entry where all the chaos was unfolding.

Everyone froze when Haruka forced open the doors. Lovrina took her sights off Wes. "Well, the coward shows her face."

"Haruka what are you doing?" Wes panicked, as did Gonzap.

"Lovrina. Cipher's really run out of decent agents I guess. Where's Ein?" Haruka trained her sights on Lovrina exclusively.

"I guess you didn't hear. After losing you, Shadow Mewtwo, Mei, and Ryoko. Most all of the admins were severely reprimanded. Ein's stuck in Citadark toiling away on permanent Shadowification. You broke him when you ran away. It's pathetic." Lovrina cackled. "Now come with us."

"No." Haruka growled.

"No? You're not in much position to be fighting back. We all know how. Getting knocked up has put a real strain on your body. Plus, Ryoko's not even here. So cut the façade." Lovrina giggled.

"You're right. The pregnancy has been brutal. And yeah, Ryoko's not here. I'm not giving up though. So many people have gotten hurt helping me, I've caused so much pain and grieve. All the while I've been pitying myself and spiraling into a tail spin of negative thoughts and emotions." Haruka balled her fist and looked at everyone.

"Wes. Gonzap. Zephyrine. They're not just allies, they've become my friends. I have to be strong for them." Haruka smiled at Wes and Gonzap. The first time she'd truly smiled like that in a long time.

"Love and well-wishes aren't going to win you anything dear." Lovrina was sick of Haruka's preaching.

"You're right. I know that. I know this too." She pulled out a Pokeball. "I'm not some damsel in distress dammit!" Haruka shouted. "Porygon-Z. Ice Beam that Meganium!"

Haruka was now ready to fight and give it her all. "Alright. Yanma use Bug Buzz!" Wes doubled teamed Meganium with Haruka.

"Wes that's a Shadow Pokemon. Use the Snag Machine!" She saw it affixed to his arm. The versions ones were outdated, but it still worked all the same. Where he got, she had no idea. Still, it was exactly what they needed.

"You can tell it's a Shadow?" Wes figured Haruka knew the operation very well, but how could she easily identify them.

"I'm an Aura Seer." Haruka reveals. He eyes began to fill with a purple haze as she looked at Meganium. "I don't like talking about it."

"I get it. Air Slash!" The two kept battling Meganium, using their advantages to keep Lovrina at bay.

That didn't stop the advancements of other grunts thought. Through the west Sinclair and his men came charging into the fray. All after Haruka. "Haruka we need a plan. We're completely outnumbered and overrun." Even with Cipher and the OLG fighting against each other too, the numbers were still against them.

"I have one, and I hope it works." Haruka closed her eyes.

She could sense aura the way an Adept could detect Ki in one's body. It wasn't quite the same however. Ki was the raw power manifested in the body. Aura was pure, unconcentrated essence. The essence of every living being. Aura connected people and Pokemon in the vast void of nothingness. She called out to the aura she'd bonded with. Calling for it. It wasn't quite a psychic link, but a spiritual link. Metaphysical.

"_I need you_." Haruka extended her consciousness, trying to reach out and touch the aura she sought. "Come to me!" Her voice called out.

From Citadark, a voice called out to it. Lying dormant. Resisting the corrupted darkness around. A voice called out to it, penetrating the corruption. A familiar voice, a familiar presence. It awoke with a fierce fervor. It thrashed and attacked its containment. Alarms creating even more turmoil.

"Sir we have an emergency. XD001 is trying to escape!" A scientist reported.

"What? It should be completely subdued." Greevil's anger was palpable. "Subdue it! Use more sedatives!"

"They're not working sir! Oh no!" A crash rang out over the intercom.

Greevil slammed his desk. "Report!" Static. No response. "Damnit! Es Cade check and see what is going on."

Es Cade was near the chamber so he quickly peaked his head in. "Sir, this is bad!"

"Spit it out already. I want some answers!" Greevil was spitting fire.

"XD001 has escaped of its own accord. It punctured through the barrier and everything!" Es Cade had not seen such a thing since Shadow Mewtwo had managed to do the same.

"What? Track it!" Greevil's veins were popping out. He was so angry he could hardly see straight.

"Sir, please, you need to stay calm." Eldes tried calming Greevil down.

"Sir, I found the device. Lugia destroyed its tracking device." Es Cade regretfully informed them.

"All of our hard work!" He could curse to the heavens.

"Not all is lost sir. We still have all the data and DNA samples of Lugia as well." Eldes assured him they didn't need the original.

Greevil sighed and calmed himself. "I will personally see the end to all three of those damn children." He didn't know how, but he knew somehow those three were involved.

Back at the Pokemon HQ Lab. Lovrina began laughing. "What are you praying to Arceus or something? Sorry, some savior isn't going to come. It's not like Lugia suddenly going to come flying out of the clear blue sky and attacking us."

"Lady Lovrina!" Her communicator chimed in.

"What is it back up?" She turned back to them. "Yeah, we've got more on the way." She smiled.

"Our forces have all been wiped out!" He reported urgently.

"What?" Lovrina practically crushed the communicator in her hand.

"Lugia suddenly came flying out of the clear blue sky and attacked us!" This was all Haruka needed to here. She looked to the sky. With incredible speed Lugia flew into the fray. Aeroblast wiping out more of Cipher's agents.

"That's impossible! No way!" Lovrina stomped. Lugia flew overhead and landed on top of the lab. Letting out a mighty cry.

Haruka laughed as Lovrina and her grunts staggered and panicked. She looked Lovrina in the eye and said one thing. "Run."

The grunts complied. Lovrina was backing down so easily. "Meganium!" She wasn't paying attention to the battle. Wes took his chance. He weakened Meganium and throw an energized Pokeball at it. Turning into a Snag Ball. The Pokeball shook once, twice, three times and locked with a ping.

"Sorry. This one's mine now. Don't take it personally." Wes picked up the Pokeball and turned it against Lovrina. "Sorry sweetie." He mocked her flirty comments.

Lovrina stomped and thrashed around. "So not cool. You jerks will pay for this. Strategic withdraw!" She wasn't fooling anyone. They were retreated.

"Lugia." Haruka pointed to the vehicles. Lugia nodded and annihilated their means of transportation. "Have a nice _walk _home."

The OLG used the chaos as a cover to retreated. None of them were dumb enough to get into a battle with a legendary Pokemon.

Zephyrine ran up with Noa. "Whoa, what is that?" Zephyrine had never seen a Pokemon like Lugia before.

"That's the legendary Lugia. What is it doing here?" Noa was stupefied. She never thought she'd see such a powerful and revered Pokemon in her life.

Haruka looked up at Lugia and smiled. She felt her legs wavering. Her vision blurring. Suddenly her whole world was spinning. "Shyama!" She heard Zephyrine cry out. She felt her body fall, but as it did. It stopped. She was lying in someone's arms. "Haruka! Haruka!"

Haruka's eyes opened. "Sorry, I kind of over did it."

Zephyrine clutched her tight and tried not to cry. "Don't scare us like that dammit. Do you have any idea how freaked out they were?" She was reluctant to admit the pit she felt in her own stomach for that moment.

Haruka chuckled and patted Zephyrine on the head. "You're right. I overdid. So I freaked them out." She looked up and saw Lugia hovering in front of them. "Thank you, Lugia. I don't have your Pokeball right now, but I think it's best if you hide for right now. I will call you if I need you." Lugia nodded and took off into the sky.

Zephyrine helped Haruka to her feet. "What do we do now?"

Haruka shook her head, "I guess I'll return with Team Snagem. You head back with Wes and Cary."

"Actually, I had a different idea." Prof. Krane walked up. "You and your allies caused quite a stir. I believe you owe us. From this day forth, you will be one of our lab members. I will not take no for an answer." He smiled and produced a lab coat.

Haruka walked over. "Well, looks like I'm their hostage now." She looked up to Gonzap and smiled. "Thank you, I want to help Team Snagem out as much as I can still."

"Then we'll help the lab anyway we can." Gonzap agreed to this compromise.

"I think the lab could use an extra hand around for added security." She winked at Zephyrine.

"Me?" Zephyrine was surprised.

"If that's alright." Haruka looked to her and then Wes and Cary.

"Way I see it, we're all allies now." Cary chimed in.

"I think she'll be a lot happier here." Wes agreed with Haruka's proposal.

"It's settled then." Prof. Krane. "Though Zephyrine. I think there is something else you need to do." He motioned to Noa.

Zephyrine sighed and walked up to Noa. "You're so ridiculous optimistic and what you did was stupid. Thank you though."

"I didn't do anything. I probably caused more problems." Noa's head sank.

"Oh no, you absolutely did. I'm thanking you, because you were nice to me without any reason. You're a good person. A good person who did her best to protect her friends and family. I'm just a bitch." Zephyrine confessed.

Noa threw her arms around Zephyrine. "No, you're not. You can be a good person too. I know it. We'll be best friends!" Noa squeezed the life out of Zephyrine again. Clinging to her.

"You're crushing me again!" Zephyrine tried prying her off, to little avail.

Things had finally settled in Orre, even for a moment. The rebellion, Team Snagem, and the Pokemon Coordination Lab formed a new alliance. For once there was a glimmer of hope in the vast darkness of Cipher's shadow.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well this was a long one, you can see why I broke this arc up into so many parts. The climatic end to this arc has finally come. Now we can move on to the enxt story with a drastic shift in dynamic with the multiple factions now at play in Orre.


	47. Chapter 43: New Horizons

Chapter 43: New Horizons

Amidst all the tension in Orre, things were finally settling down. For the moment at least. Gonzap was back in his office. The Eclo Canyon base was no more fortified than before. Team Snagem had slowly been building their forces for when they ultimately betrayed Cipher. Gonzap knew he'd be a fool to leave the base unfortified after making Cipher angry. Security was increased exponentially with more men guarding the parameter and the mouth of the canyon. They had a lot of natural protection, surrounded by large, sturdy rock faces on three sides. So unless Cipher and the OLG wanted to repel down canyon walls they wouldn't strike from any of their blind spots. Getting in the canyon would be its own hazard as well.

Gonzap thought to the last massive attack on the base. A rouge trainer stealing their snag machine. Gonzap laughed to himself. To think he was no fighting alongside the very trainer who took the lives of some many of his men. He almost didn't recognize him. His demeanor and attitude were softer, purer. He cared more for the lives of others than Gonzap would have ever imagined. A strong sense of self-preservation still ran deep. Wes was the kind of man who would fight to the very last man standing, but he was no fool. Wes would escape of he had the chance, taking as many people with him as he could. He prioritized his mission, but he was hardly a martyr.

Gonzap's thoughts were interrupted by a call on his monitor. He smirked and answered. "Greevil, it's been too long. How are you?" He casually addressed his former leader.

"I'm not interested in your playful banter, you backstabbing bastard." His expression was one of pure malice and anger. "Return Haruka or we'll rip every inch of your base apart."

Gonzap laughed, "Sorry, but Haruka is not in my hands right now. She has other projects in mind. Besides, you can drag her back kicking and screaming, she still won't help you."

"No, but I'm sure Takahata will be more than willing to barter for her safe return. Maybe negotiate with that thorn in our side, Sinclair. Don't think we have plenty of uses for her. We want Lugia back, that's our first priority. It seemed to sense that its master was in danger and ran to her aid." Greevil was a calculated man, he could still salvage this.

Gonzap shrugged, "Fine, take her. While you divert a large number of your agents to capturing Haruka. I'll just give Takumi and his rebels a call. It won't be a decisive blow, but they can probably hurt your resources. Hell, we both know one way or another Sinclair and the Orre Liberation Group would find out and take advantage of the situation too. Face it, we're at a bit of a stalemate right now."

Greevil snarled and slammed his desk, "This isn't over traitor!" He hung up.

Gonzap laughed, he loved getting under that old bastard's skin. It was a truly satisfying feeling. Knocking the most powerful man in the region down a peg or two. Gonzap spoke the truth though. Everyone was at a bit of a stalemate. For now, all Gonzap could hope for was Haruka and the Pokemon HQ Lab discovering a way to purify Shadow Pokemon. Though, once Ryoko and Mei entered back into the picture, then the scales would finally start to shift.

The city of Vermillion was a lovely port town. Rich in culture and life. Though her king was nowhere to be found. It was all Rosa could do not to scream. More fruitless efforts to find the man she admired the most.

She was never good at reunions, and this was by far the most awkward. Rosa stood on side lines as her companion stared down the Sky Dragon wielder and a young girl. Ryo did not look too pleased to see her however. Bad blood? No doubt with his betrayal that he made quite a number enemies, but she did not come off as one. She went to all the effort to peacefully meet up with him.

"Why are you here Mei?" So her name was Mei? Ryo seemed quite familiar with her, so they were most likely friends. Rather, were friends? Rosa was not good at this and she knew it.

"I wanted to see you. I wanted to tell you everything that's been going on in Orre. I know I can't dragging you back. What you're doing in important, I understand that." Yes, he was amidst a most important task, helping Rosa find her king. Or so she told herself.

Ryo sighed, "At least you're not trying to drag me back. I can't go back the way I am." No doubt the guilt of not being able to find King N would bare heavily on his soul.

"I'll be quick about it. You and me. There's something Cipher never told us. You're… my brother. Our dad is Takahata, or Takumi of the rebellion. Our mom was killed by Cipher while giving birth to you. Haruka escaped Team Cipher and is now helping Team Snagem." Mei paused. Rosa had a hard time processing all this information. It reminded her of cheap TV dramas. She was waiting for the part about Ryo evil twin to come up. "Most importantly, Haruka is pregnant." Plot twist.

Ryo's eyes widened, like full on dilated. Rosa didn't know eyes actually did that when reacting to surprise. "I had no idea. Dammit. I'm the worst. You had to deal with all of that while I've been running out Kanto." Ryo's hands balled into fists. Rosa felt back for him, know his swain was with child and he couldn't do anything to help her. Rosa knew his pain. Not being able to find her King was a saddening feeling.

"If I call her, will you at least talk to her?" Mei gave him a look of sincere worry. This was a touchy subject, Rosa felt like she should speak up.

"I shouldn't, she's probably still mad at me." Ryo sank his head low. Rosa must inspire him with her words.

"But thou must!" She blurted out. Surprising everyone. "Tis true thou feels guilty for abandoning thy swain, but sure she shalt forgive thee."

"The hell did she just say?" Plebian, she couldn't fathom the depths of Rosa's words. She smiled to herself and nodded.

Ryo sighed, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're probably right." Of course she was right. A maiden's heart was not so complicated after all.

"Wait, you understood her." The plebian looked confused. She at least understood that Ryo would talk to his swain. Mei pulled out his X-Transceiver and called Haruka.

Haruka was in the Pokemon HQ Lab reading over a mountain of documents. She was already feeling at home in the lab. They provided her with new clothes and a lab coat, as well as free room and board. Much more than she could have asked for. They'd even given Zephyrine the same treatment. Both Zephyrine and Noa were with her reading through documents and reports to hopefully learn more about how they could purify Shadow Pokemon. For the first time in so long, Haruka felt at peace.

Her reading was interrupted by a call. She looked at her X-Transceiver. Mei. She happily answered. "Mei, I'm glad to hear from you."

"Hey Haruka, you sound a lot better." Mei answered awkwardly. "There's someone who wants to talk to you."

Haruka felt her heart skip a beat. She found Ryoko? There was so much she wanted to tell him, but everything was just getting clogged up in her mind now that she could finally talk to him.

"Haruka." Ryoko's voice came over the device. He wa loss for words, but just hearing his voice brought tears to her eyes.

"Ryoko, I'm so happy to hear from you." Her voice trembled.

"Me too, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything." Ryo started tearing up too.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm sorry for what I said to you back then. I didn't mean it. I could never mean that. Ryoko, I love you."

He smiled and wiped a tear away, "I love you too Haruka. I promise I'll come back to you stronger than I was. We'll take down Cipher, and make the region a better place. A good home for our child."

Haruka smiled, "Mei told you?"

"I guess she ruined the surprise." He chuckled.

"No, I'm just glad you know. Don't worry about us. I'm working with the Pokemon Coordination Lab now. I'm working with Team Snagem too. As well as the rebellion. We're all working together to take down Cipher." Haruka's words were inspiring. Hearing her say this Ryo knew they could do it.

"We can do it, I know it." He smiled. "I know I was dodging your calls for so long, but if you do want to talk, then please call me. I was being stupid. I thought if I ignored your calls, I'd be able to focus on my training, but all it left me with was this empty feeling." He was a fool for doing this, but he couldn't just call her out of the blue either.

"I will, take care." Haruka felt reenergized after hearing from Ryoko for the first time in so long.

He handed the device back over to Mei. "We'll see you soon Haruka."

"Yeah. Take care." They hung up. Haruka was beaming. Noa and Zephyrine both noticed how Haruka was fawning like a schoolgirl over her crush. They gave each other knowing glances and chuckled quietly.

"Hey, you two will feel the same way when you fall in love." Haruka didn't appreciate the teenagers' snickering.

"Nah, love's overrated. I'll be a hermit." Zephyrine wasn't exactly looking for love.

"What? I can't wait to find my true love. It sounds so romantic." Noa put her hands on her cheeks and giggled.

"I will throat punch you." Zephyrine casually waved her fist. Noa sat down and resumed her researched.

Haruka laughed, this feeling. It was a nice feeling. Working with them and hearing from Ryoko put her mind at ease. Plus, having those two helping her was a treat. It was like Haruka had two younger sisters by her side. Admittedly one being sweet and innocent, while the other was a bit more… abrasive.

"Zeph, why aren't you wearing some nicer clothes. You look trashy." Noa whined, she'd helped find clothes that would fit Zephyrine, but she refused to wear them.

"You're trashy!" She snapped back. "Besides, I told you, I'm comfortable in these."

"How comfortable can torn up jeans and t-shirts with the sleeves torn off really be?" Noa critiqued.

"When it's all you've ever had, they work just fine. Besides, what about you? Have you ever even heard of a hair brush?" She points to Noa's untamed hair.

Haruka chuckled, "Calm down girls."

The two huffed and resumed working. "I don't really mind your hair." Zephyrine clarified.

"I guess that style is very you." Noa also confessed. She just wanted to look out for her new friend. While Zephyrine didn't want to come off as a complete bitch to Noa. The two cared in their own ways, despite their conflicting personalities.

Mei pocketed her device and looked back to Ryo. "So, what will you do now? Head back to Orre and join up with the rebellion?" Ryo figured her job was done now.

Mei shook her head, "Actually, if you don't mind. I was hoping to travel with you. I would like to see more of the world outside of Orre. I think it would give me a chance to get stronger too."

Ryo smiled, "It's been something else I'll tell you that. Except we're kind of on our way to the port. We got tickets on the S.S. Anne to the Sevii Islands."

"Really? That sounds cool. How do I get a ticket?" Mei knew she couldn't just walk up to a counter and ask for a ticket.

Ryo rubbed the back of his neck and gave Tom a nervous smile. Tom stared blankly and sighed, "_Sure, just call in more favors. It's no problem. I'm just still doing damage control on the whole Whirl Islands thing. Plus, the robbery on Cinnabar. No one's asking why there have been so many high-profile incidents in my region. Let me just call up some friends and pull a few more strings. That won't be suspicious at all._" Tom grumbled to himself as he reached out to more of his connections.

"I have a feeling he's been a bit put out lately." Mei felt bad having to rely on the World Champion like this. Sounded like he'd already gone above and beyond to help Ryoko.

"I hate having to keep asking him for favors like this. I swear this will be the last of it." Ryo couldn't imagine why he'd need to ask Tom for any more help. At least, he hoped he wouldn't have to.

"Alright, one ticket on the S.S. Anne to the Sevii islands. Don't say I've never done you any favors. Pick it up at the ticket dispenser." Tom wrote down the details and a confirmation number.

"Thanks Tom, put it on Cipher's tab." Ryo patted him on the shoulder.

"Oh trust me, I will. Maybe that Snattle guy will finally cave. He's still adamantly denying Cipher had any involvement in what happened in Johto." It was giving Tom and the rest of the regional authorities a headache.

"Yeah, he's good at that. Good luck." Ryo hated arguing with him, Snattle could turn anything in his favor if he really tried.

"Good luck to you too. Let's go Sabrina." Tom and Sabrina made their exit, leaving Ryo, Mei, and Rosa.

"Well, tis one distract behind us. Come and let us venture forth in our endless pursuit of thy king." Rosa pointed towards the S.S. Anne with much determination.

"Ryoko, who is this weirdo?" Mei wasn't so sure being around her was a good idea. She was even more confused why he was around her though.

"Weirdo? Hark plebian. I am the most noble knight of milord the great King N. Tis my sworn oath as his loyal vassal to serve humbly by milord's side. So, I am in search of him." Rosa explained as glamorously as possible. Just like the gallant knight she was.

Mei had no idea how to respond to that. "Where do I even begin?"

"Let's just get on the boat. I can explain everything later." Ryo shook his head and led the two along. He had a lot of explaining to do, so the downtime would be a good chance for Mei to get all caught up on everything he was up to. As well as debrief him on everything he missed.

The three were about to embark on a new adventure with its own trials to overcome. They had to be ready for whatever awaited them. Their next destination, the tropic archipelago of the Sevii Islands. Where dark secrets laid just under the surface.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. This was just more of a cool down chapter for the next arc which is just beyond the horizon. I wanted to get Ryo, Mei, and Rosa back into the story while quickly tying up some loose ends in Orre. Since we'll be gone from there for a little while. Plus, I really wanted to explore the Sevii Islands, but I couldn't really fit it into Tia's Tales in a way I felt would work. So this is my chance to finally show off an idea I've had for a little while now.


	48. Chapter 44: Murky Tides

Chapter 44: Murky Tides

"Okay, so let me get this straight. Rosa over here is a former member of Team Plasma you met along your journey." Mei was trying to piece this situation together in her mind. She wanted to get everything squared away now so she knew what to expect while traveling together.

"Yeah basically." Ryo admitted it was a weird situation, but at least he wasn't wandering around alone. Especially now that he had Mei with him. His older sister, he still couldn't wrap his mind around this. Yet at the same time it made so much sense. Ryo always loved Mei like a sister, it wasn't a far cry to see how the two could be related.

"And she's looking for this N guy, the former leader of Plasma, because she's his most loyal vassal?"

"Verily." Rosa confirmed.

"So why does she talk like she's out of the middle ages?" Mei couldn't understand that part. Was it required by Team Plasma, or did Rosa take her responsibilities way too seriously?

"I just stopped questioning it at this point." Ryo had just come to accept her weird idiosyncrasies for what they were.

"Tis the right choice." The three stood on deck as the waves passed below and the calm sea air passed through their hair.

"This feels lovely." Mei smiled wide, wider than she felt like she'd ever smiled. Her body and mind felt so at peace, yet a twinge of guilt lingered in her mind. What was she doing? Having a vacation while everyone in Orre was fighting for their lives?

Ryo put a hand on Mei's shoulder and the smile faded, "Don't feel bad, we're here because we have to be. I want to get stronger, and I know this is how to do it." This wasn't Ryo's first journey aboard the S.S. Anne either. Though last time it was just a month-long cruise. This one had an intended destination.

"I really wonder if the trainers in Kanto can really compare to those in Orre though. They all seem so happy and lackadaisical." Mei didn't mean to offend them, but they didn't know her strife. Her peoples' strife. Hell, Mei couldn't truly claim to know the pain others had felt, just her own personal injustices.

"You'd be surprised. I mean look who their champion is." Ryo did bring up a good point.

Elsewhere on deck. "I still don't know about taking a vacation so soon."

"Come on, you work too hard, everyone's worried you're going to burn yourself out."

"I don't mind it though. I want to make a good impression."

"You worry too much. Come on, your grandpa scored you these tickets anyway."

"Yeah, I know. Why did he get me two anyway?"

"Bless that old man's soul."

"I don't think that was his intention."

"I don't know. He was pretty excited when he heard his granddaughter finally landed a boyfriend."

"Well at least the league found a stand in at the gym so quickly."

"Yeah, Morty's dad loves subbing as a gym leader. Usually he only does it for Morty and Sabrina though."

"Maybe I should call him and see how things are going?"

"You're worrying about nothing."

The couple walked around on the deck of the ship, but stopped when one of them noticed someone in particular. "Ryo?"

Ryo turned and see how a young man with messy black hair with a girl standing on deck. "Red? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Red shook his hand. "I'm on a bit of a vaca with my girlfriend, Anna." He put an arm around her with a cheesy grin.

Anna smiled warmly, "Nice to meet you. Are you one of Red's friends?"

"I met him when I was getting my first Pokemon from Prof. Oak. I know his sister too." Ryo left it at that. No need to burden Anna with his life's story, or his less than friendly run ins with Tia.

"Oh, so you know Tia too. That's cool. You on vacation too?" Anna smiled again. Red's girlfriend was a lot calmer and more collected than he was.

"Sort of, I wanted to train more, so that's why we're heading to the Sevii Islands." He looked over and remembered who he left flapping in the wind. "Right, this is Mei. My old sister." That still felt weird to say. Especially the older part. "This is Rosa. We've been traveling together helping each other out."

"Kind maiden, have you mayhaps seen my king? Lord N." Rosa beseeched herself before Anna and Red.

"N, the guy who headed Team Plasma?" Anna never ran into N or Team Plasma on her journey, but she knew all about them. "No, I haven't."

"_Kind maiden?_" Red asked.

"Just go with it." Mei added.

"Alright, well if you're looking to train. How about we have a battle?" Red pulled out a Pokeball. "You two versus us, a double battle."

"Double battling is our specialty. We're not going to lose." Mei said confidently.

"Uh Mei, sidebar." He pulled her aside. "We can't risk going easy on them."

"Ryo, we've double battled together all our lives. We can beat two run of the mill trainers." Mei felt confident in this.

"Those _run of the mill trainers_ made it to the final and semifinal round of the PWT. They're two of the strongest trainers in the world currently." Ryo advised.

"Seriously?" Mei did a double take.

"Yeah, so we can't go easy on them, or we're screwed." Ryo was right to be concerned. Honestly, he had his doubts that they could win. Those two were on an entirely different level.

"Alright, don't worry Ryo. We can do this." Mei looked confident, but Ryo just hoped she wasn't over confident. All too often did pride come before the fall.

"Let's go right over here." Anna pointed to several battlefields on the deck of the ship. There were even more down below. "I actually wanted to practice with a new team member of mine." As a gym leader and breeder, Anna was always testing out new team combinations and Pokemon to battle with. "Go Girafarig."

"I'm trying out something new too. Go Tangela." Red and Anna called out their Pokemon and waited patiently.

"Alright, I'm not going to hold back then. Go Slowking." Mei went right for her signature Pokemon.

"Let's see what we can do Dragonair." At this point Dragonair was still the strongest member of Ryo's team and he didn't get a lot of chances to use her.

"Alright, let's make this a quick battle. One Pokemon each. Sound fine to everyone?" Red figured they probably didn't want to drag the battle out too long.

"Fine with us." Mei started things off. "Nasty Plot Slowking."

"Agility." Ryo and Mei spend their first actions on buffing.

"Yikes, that's a pretty powerful Slowking I'm betting." Red smirked, "Power Swap."

"Oh, you jerk." Mei was not happy about that.

"Alright Girafarig, let's show them our special attack." Girafarig stood its ground as wind whipped up around it.

"I don't like the sound of that. Aqua Tail Dragonair." Ryo went straight for Girafarig.

"Not so fast. Rage Powder!" Tangela shot red spores directly at Dragonair. Suddenly Dragonair went into a frenzy and attacked Tangela.

"Slowking try stopping Girafarig with Water Pulse." Slowking focused Girafarig while Ryo handled Tangela. The attack did some solid damage, but Girafarig was still standing tall.

Anna smiled, "I'm insulted if you think that would have been enough to take down _my _Pokemon." She let out a soft giggle and attacked. "Razor Wind!"

"What?" Mei had never seen a Girafarig use a move like Razor Wind before. She doubted it was possible, but the truth spoke for itself.

Razor sharp blades cut through the air and slashed at Slowking. A Critical hit none the less. Mei gritted her teeth. "Don't think we're going down so easily either."

"Giga Drain!" Red shouted out as Tangela got knocked over by Dragonair. Red focused on Slowking and used Tangela's type advantage to syphon a huge amount of Slowking's health. "Hiya. Remember me?"

"Dragon Tail!" Ryo shouted.

"Uh-oh. Amnesia!" Tangela steadied itself and boosted its special defenses. Not the most helpful against Dragon Tail, but Red was airing on the side of caution. Still, the special attack boost to Giga Drain was great at restoring any lost health and the added defense made Tangela a powerhouse.

Dragonair was knocking Tangela around the battlefield to little avail. While Mei was really struggling after the two very powerful hits. "Red, let's take care of Dragonair first." She wasn't worried about Slowking at the moment. "Let's do it, Zen Headbutt."

Red grinned, "Grab Girafarig with Vine Whip and toss it."

"What?" Ryo had no idea what Red was thinking. Tangela sent out a vine to latch onto Girafarig's leg and hurled it head first at Dragonair, except Girafarig didn't seem phased by the attack Girafarig seemed to get a boost from it. "What was that?"

"Sap Sipper. A very special ability rarely found in Girafarig." Anna explained while Girafarig hit on impact. Knocking out Dragonair with one powerful attack.

"Tangela Giga Drain again!" Red was ready to end this battle here and now.

"Psychic!" Mei wasn't giving up without a fight, but no matter the damage she did with Psychic Tangela was able to make up the damage by syphoning the last of Slowking's health.

"Woo that was some battle you two." Red gave them a thumbs up. "Where was your team work though? Come on, you were practically in two different battles."

Mei's head sank, "I don't know?"

"We were completely out of sync. I guess she's never battle alongside my Dragonair." Ryo figured that had to be the reason.

"If it was you and Metagross it probably would have ended a lot differently." Mei knew Metagross well and worked in perfect harmony with it in double battles.

"Well, you guys are here to practice, so do that and you'll get better in no time." Anna was optimistic, she could see it in their eyes. The two of them were strong trainers. "I've seen so many types of trainers, so I know that wasn't your best."

"Yeah, how did you get so good?" Ryo wanted another perspective on being a trainer.

"Well, I spent a lot of my life searching for what I wanted to be. I eventually realized I wanted to be a breeder. Then the title of Goldenrod City Gym Leader kind of fell in my lap. I guess I was always pretty gifted, but I never just wanted to be a trainer. My calling was to be a breeder and a gym leader." Anna found strength is following her dreams and doing what she loved most.

"I just wanted to be the best and catch all the Pokemon I could." Red laughed. Which was more than enough for him. He, like his sister, had a never say die attitude that kept pushing him forward. "What about you?"

"Defeat Cipher." Ryo and Mei both stated with determination.

"Yawn, don't tell me that revenge or some sense of justice is your _only _motivation. What do you really want?" Red teased them.

Ryo paused. He didn't think of his life in the grand scheme of things. All he wanted was to make Orre a better place. "To make Orre a safer place."

"Try again. Give me something real this time." Red rolled his eyes.

Ryo thought more and more. What was wrong with wanting Orre to be a better place? Too much for one man to handle. No, he knew what he was fighting for. "I want to make Orre a better place, a safer place. A home where I know my child will be safe." Ryo's determination was completely unwavering.

Red smiled, "Then never forget that. Fight for that cause, always."

Anna turned her attention to Mei, "What about you?"

"I owe a lot of people. People who have helped me, people I've wronged, and people I've hurt. I'm going to atone for all my sins. Just like Ryo, I want to be strong for others, and set an example." Mei didn't care if they disagreed with her or not.

"You're both very selfless." Anna didn't want Rosa to feel left out. "What about you?"

"I art a stalwart knight, thy strength comes from thy devotion to King N. For whom is the most noble and righteous." Rosa put rather elegantly.

"No seriously, did she like suffer a blow to the head or something?" Red couldn't get over her mannerisms.

"Silence plebian." Rosa scowled.

"Either way, I hope you all can train and get better on this journey." Anna encouraged them.

Mei and Ryo smiled. Rosa cocked her head, "I needn't train. Virizion and I are already powerful enough. I am simply on a quest to find my king."

"I'm sorry what?" Red stammered.

"I seek nothing more than to find my king." Rosa reiterated.

"No, before that."

"I needn't train?"

"The middle part!"

"Say what you mean, plebian!"

"The Virizion part!"

"Oh, yes Virizion and I are plenty strong as is." Rosa said casually.

"Isn't that a legendary Pokemon?" Red didn't know much about lore outside of Kanto, but he'd heard about the Swords of Justice from Gary and his Keldeo.

"Thou art correct. Virizion is a noble and stalwart Pokemon. A Pokemon worthy of serving King N." Rosa proudly declared.

"Ryo, did you know this?" Mei asked.

"I only found out recently when she used it against Lugia." Ryo would have never pegged Rosa as a trainer with a legendary Pokemon.

"Well that's a surprise. We'll have to battle sometime then." Red loved battling strong Pokemon, especially legendary ones. He's convinced Gary, his father, and Blaine. Tom hasn't caved, yet. His sister had battled a fair number of legendary Pokemon, and won without one of her own. So Red didn't want to be shown up.

"Somewhere that will result in less collateral damage." Anna chuckled. "I'm sure we'll find someplace there." Anna pointed towards the distance. The Sevii islands were still a fair distance away. They'd probably hit it by night time, but passengers slept in their rooms on the boat. The whole trip was about two weeks. Stopping off for a couple days on each of the seven islands.

This was the first leg of their exciting journey through the Sevii Islands. Stop number one, the aptly named One Island. Commonly called Knot Island. What other excitement awaited? The group was definitely in for a few surprises.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. More set up for the next arc, but I am glad I got to reintroduce Red and Anna back into the Saga with a bit more important roles. Red never really got a chance to shine in Tia's Tales, so giving him a bigger role here is nice. Plus, having him with Anna gets to explore their relationship, another thing I haven't really gotten to do in Tia's Tales.


	49. Hiatus

I bet no one saw this coming. To be completely honest, neither did I, but it's been something I've been thinking about for a very long time. I love writing the Pokemon Sagas Series, but at the end of the day, I need to either take a break or really reevaluate what I'm doing here. I'm not getting burnt out by the series, I still love writing it, but I've come to the conclusion that as much as I love this series, it's holding me back.

I'm not saying this series hasn't great things for me as far as improving my skills as a writer, because it's molded my writing style with each chapter and arc. Although, at the end of the day, what I am doing with the Sagas series is hindering what I really want. I unfortunately am not getting the exposure I want by just writing fanfiction. I love and respect fanfics, it's a great hobby, but that's just it. It's a hobby. A hobby that has taken up a lot of my time and take a larger priority than it really should have.

At the end of the day I balance school work, my job, my fan fiction, and writing my own stories. Work and school always come first, and that has never been a major issue. I've successfully published a new chapter every week for over three years now. Whether it be Tia's Tales or Shadow Destiny. Therein lies the issue. I've prioritized this over my own stories, the things I want to write, my original ideas. Not stories written and inspired by another's intellectual property. For as fun as it is. Tia's Tales and Shadow Destiny aren't getting the exposure I want/need. Are taking priority over the stories I want to write, and is at the end of the day not something I will ever make money off of.

Chapters are getting longer and more complex with more plot elements and research, which I love, but has also caused me to really push deadlines which I don't like doing. I try to build a nice back catalog, which for a while I had, but it's gotten to the point that it is taking up too much of my time. Time I would rather spend on something that can actually get me recognition as a writer. For a long time now I have not made any significant progress on my own stories, because I've been too busy writing this.

I've felt this way for a long time, but I've been committed to the Sagas series, but I'm really starting to get more invested in my own works, that really this has to happen. I'm not killing the series, because frankly I have literally everything through Sun and Moon all planned out. Yes, I have Gen 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 all planned out canonically, and I'm barely half way through gen three.

Think about that, I'm thirty chapters into Hoenn and not even really at the half way point, so another thirty chapters with twenty-six uploads in a year. I realistically wouldn't even be done with Hoenn until 2018. Then Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, and Alola which would be would be just as long if not longer. By the time, I got to Sinnoh I'm sure a Diamond and Pearl remake would be out with new elements I'd wanted to work in. By the time, I get to Unova or Kalos we'll probably be in another generation or two.

It's never ending. I would love to write more and more about my favorite video game franchise, but it doesn't make sense to keep doing it the way I'm doing it. I hate doing this, but it has to be done. I'm not killing the series, but I can't continue at the pace I'm going at now. It unfortunately is doing me more harm than good, and diminishing the quality of my fanfics, as well as my actually original stories.

As always, I thank each everyone one of you who has enjoyed my stories over the past few years, and know this isn't the end. I just need time to get my priorities corrected and honestly, build back up a back catalog of chapters so I'm not pushing deadlines or being overwhelmed with my own work.


End file.
